BevNET Magazine November/December 2023

M A G A Z I N E • N E W P R O D U C T S , T R E N D S , A N D I N N O VAT I O N

Making a Splash How Coffee Continues to Elevate Alt-Milk 2023

NEW BEVERAGE GUIDE NACS REVIEW

SPARKLING WATER

KOMBUCHA + PROBIOTICS GO POP

NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2023

Contents • November – December 2023 • Volume 21 - No. 6 M

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NEW BEVERAGE GUIDE • 2023 56

63

Columns

Event Coverage

6 First Drop Staying Positive

40 NACS Review

8 Publisher’s Toast Ending on a High

Features

10 Gerry’s Insights Trending Up, Trending Down

42 Sparkling Water Fizzy Flavors on the Rise

Departments 12 Bevscape/NOSHscape/Brewscape KDP, Electrolit Announce Sales & Distribution Pact; Impact Capital Acquires Majority of Junkless Foods; Rhinegeist, New Belgium Appoint New CEOs 32 New Products Celsius, Slate, Dr Pepper 36 Channel Check Weight Control/Nutritionals 112 Promo Parade Electrolit Teams Up With Four University of Houston Student-Athletes

48 Kombucha + Probiotics The Category’s New Pop Stars

56 Dairy/Alt-Dairy Coffee Connections Create Momentum

Special Section 63 New Beverage Guide

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5

The First Drop By Jeffrey Klineman Hold Steady, Folks, and Get Big Picture The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn is a singer and lyricist I like a great deal because he’s able to create musical short stories that unspool the lives of the people in the crowd – at a party, at a store, a concert, a shopping mall, in the car, in the mosh pit, at the hospital – as the forces around them jostle, bang, and fall against each other.

One of his greatest songs is “Stay Positive,” which to me is an ode to art motivating collective steps toward unity, encompassing a time when “true scene leaders” come together “to get big picture.” In doing so, it doesn’t deny the existence of difference, or denigrate the other scenes, it acknowledges that there’s something greater than our differences.

The route to getting that big picture? Finn howls, simply, “We gotta stay positive.”

It’s been 15 years now since “Stay Positive” debuted on the album of the same name, and it remains a powerful anthem, especially as we’re all getting jostled within the crowd.

So I’m going to spend this column pointing out some positives as we end the year, no matter how much negativity lives within the crowd.

The gradual recentering of brands around profitability, rather than blind trust that investors will provide massive growth capital at multiples that aren’t sustainable.

It’s always hard to find investors – but maybe if brands are able to focus more closely on things like unit economics they will be able to control their own destiny more than depending on cash infusions. More and more, people like Elliot Begoun are making sense to entrepreneurs who focus on slow growth until they’re ready to go fast. It’s hard – but in an age where an enormous number of small brands are looking to address small audiences, the work of finding your tribe of users has to come first.

There is a lot of pain associated with that – wondering when you can afford production runs and navigate chargebacks from distributors going to far-flung locations. The good answer is often “no” – as in, I don’t want to work with someone, distributor or retailer, who doesn’t keep track of my product, who won’t pay me in a timely manner, who will leave me to dangle.

One thing that hasn’t changed in the industry is that if you can bring customers to the store, the stores will want you, and if the stores want you, the distributors do, too. That means paying attention to your consumers – a reversal of mindset in the age of the chain buyer, for sure – but if you can deliver them to the store, the rest of the gatekeepers, those buyers and distributors and investors will swing wide.

Newcomers Prime and Electrolit, along with category leader offshoots like Gatorlyte, are re-wiring the hydration category in much the same way that high-test energy drinks like Celsius and BANG opened new doors in the energy drink space. And they’re rightfully pulling a lot of the attention.

But there are other feel-good stories in this category expansion, like the long-bootstrapped Revitalyte. Starting in the Minneapolis area in 2017, the team has been dogged in staying lean and picking its spots. In September, during NACS, co-founders Ryan Leonard and Andrew “A.J.” LaGoo calmly held down the fort in the Monster Energy Booth. Revitalyte is an independent brand that had an existing relationship with the beer brands comprising CANarchy when it sold to Monster last year. That means that Revitalyte will have the chance to be sold as part of the larger company’s emerging beer network, Monarchy, which will also sell Monster’s own Beast Unleashed as well as Liquid Death-fighter Tour Water. Given the energy with which Monster chases opportunities, this could be a game-changer for Revitalyte.

6 BEVNET MAGAZINE –• JANUARY/FEBRUARY NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 2023

Meanwhile, the two founders continue to doggedly plot their way forward – they’ve got a deal with Barstool Sports for marketing visibility and their products are gaining purchase in beer, wine, and spirits channels alongside regular retail. It’s entrepreneurship at its scrappiest, and it’s fun to watch the ride.

There’s new energy going into other established categories beyond hydration and energy: • Tea, where efforts by Just Ice Tea, Humanitea, Equitea and others continue to use this universal beverage type to change the world, while the growth of a company like Milo’s has shown that great things can come from purpose-driven leadership, even when the product is as simple as sweet tea.

• CSDs, where brands like Olipop, Poppi, and Culture Pop have harnessed consumers’ nostalgia for soda to their enthusiasm for gut health to create a product class that has broken new ground as a subcategory.

• RTD Cocktails, where creative, high-quality brands are exploding – and creating a trend that hopefully soaks up the market share leaking out of the seltzer category.

There’s been an increase in terrific commercials for CPG brands of late, you just aren’t seeing most of them on TV. Tractor Beverage, Chubby Snacks, Mid-Day Squares, and of course Liquid Death continue to funnel brilliant instincts and talent through tactical video execution – making content that’s great fun to watch and a step beyond the usual Justin Timberlake Pepsi spot.

So here’s one more thing that Craig Finn writes in : “It’s one thing to start it with a positive jam, and it’s another thing to see it all through. And we couldn’t of even done this if it wasn’t for you.”

I agree. Thanks for reading throughout the year, and in the new year, let’s hope that, even we’re jostling each other in the crowd, we stay positive.

Photo by Samara Doole on Unsplash

Publisher’s Toast By Barry Nathanson M

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www.bevnet.com/magazine

Barry J. Nathanson PUBLISHER bnathanson@bevnet.com Jeffrey Klineman EDITOR-IN-CHIEF jklineman@bevnet.com Martín Caballero MANAGING EDITOR mcaballero@bevnet.com Ray Latif CONTRIBUTING EDITOR rlatif@bevnet.com Brad Avery REPORTER bavery@bevnet.com Justin Kendall NEWS EDITOR, BREWBOUND jkendall@bevnet.com Carol Ortenberg EDITOR, NOSH cortenberg@bevnet.com Adrianne DeLuca REPORTER adeluca@bevnet.com

SALES John McKenna DIRECTOR OF SALES jmckenna@bevnet.com Adam Stern SENIOR ACCOUNT SPECIALIST astern@bevnet.com John Fischer ACCOUNT SPECIALIST jfischer@bevnet.com Jon Landis BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER jlandis@bevnet.com

ART & PRODUCTION Aaron Willette DESIGN MANAGER

Let’s End The Year On a High Note.

First and foremost, while the pandemic seems to be over, it’s still rearing its ugly head. I contracted it 10 days ago.

Nary a symptom, and feeling fine, I tested to appease a friend we were having brunch with. It was positive. I isolated this past week and missed my Thanksgiving celebration with family for the first time in my 75 years. Life plays strange tricks. Covid isn’t done with us yet. Stay diligent.

It hasn’t tempered my excitement about our upcoming BevNET Live. As I look through the list of people we’ve signed up already, I’m struck by how many names and brands I don’t know – or haven’t even heard of. I’ve always prided myself on knowing the marketplace, the brands and the players in it, but I can’t keep up with all the new entrants popping up. While there isn’t a total changing of the guard in the industry , it sure speaks volumes of the direction it is going. We were entering a golden age of beverages before the pandemic hit. Now we’re back on track.

Our conference is just a reflection that we’re fully recovered from the recent

dark days of Covid. As you peruse our website, and our magazine, you’ll see so many launches, lots of new efficacious formulations, fun new packaging ideas, and finely tuned marketing positions to define the uniqueness of each of the new brands. The industry surges forward.

I still see some hesitance by distributors/wholesalers and retailers to embrace some of the new entrants.

It’s hard for them to determine which new brands to take on, as that means dropping some already in their portfolios. They don’t have the luxury of supporting slow-moving brands anymore. The old loyalties and friendships don’t hold weight in this fast -paced marketplace. That’s not the way it works anymore. It’s a juggling act that leaves new brands at the mercy of these arbiters.

Being the cockeyed optimist and cheerleader of the beverage industry, I see the year ending positively and look forward to even greater gains in 2024. We deserve nothing less.

8 BEVNET MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023

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Gerry’s Insights By Gerry Khermouch Not a Hangover, Just a Toothache: Assessing Fiscal Trends at Year End “That wasn’t so bad, was it?” So my dentist asked me one year and $15,000 out of pocket into our new relationship last year. And in truth, in the context of domestic division, congressional dysfunction and upheaval and misery in so many parts of the globe, no, I guess it wasn’t. Indeed, he’d been disarmingly frank about his student loan predicament, so I guess I was happy to do my share to help. (OK, more than my share.) And after all my years of hard work and sacrifice, my wife had been on me to, just once, go out and spend something on myself. Well, now I had!

As we approach the close of 2023, that’s kind of my feeling about the year in beverages. Yes, inflation hurt some consumers badly.

(Never mind that their wages may have gone up even further.) Yes, growth capital was harder to come by, and those skinflint investors were starting to demand beverage startups find profitability, or if not that, then a path to profitability, or at least do some bushwhacking through the thickets of slotting and field marketing in search of that path. And yes, the strategics mainly don’t seem to be in buying mode right now. But a rich stream of innovation continued, though more often tempered by business realities like the benefit of pursuing a substantial total addressable market (TAM).

So that’s why everyone launched an energy extension! True, there were brand failures, but there always are. A few of those casualties I was genuinely sad to see subside. But others had been running on fumes for some time. Here’s my take on some of these themes.

Profitability? Investors moved the goalposts. Maybe that was a good thing. Remember that rush of beverage com-

panies to the public markets a few years ago, whether by SPAC transactions or by more rigorous IPOs? When some of those companies priced their new shares at 15X or 20X multiples, it was hard to fault them for greediness when the market immediately bid them up another 20-30%, meaning they arguably left money on the table. Now their valuations are in the tank. It’s bad enough for those that have more or less made good on their articulated strategies. For those that fell way short of their promises even as they burned tens of millions, the carnage has been even more severe. Valuations in the private realm have similarly faded for many. Except that the investor is always right (except when he’s wrong), it can seem unfair. But the shift in sentiment has breathed some much needed discipline into our business. Maybe national landgrabs are not for every brand.

onboarding and incubating early-stage non-alcoholic brands (and later-stage ones too, like Polar). So if the others are relatively quiescent on the M&A front, that seems to represent a healthy awareness of their own limitations. Personally, after seeing terrific brands like Honest Tea sacrificed to the strategic whims of their acquirers, I’m fi ne with that. I like entrepreneurs who’re about actually running a long-lasting business rather than fi nding a sucker to overpay for their company. In my newsletter I sometimes call them “tinkerers” in contrast to the “carpetbaggers” who seem to be mainly about whether they’ll buy a Maserati or a Range Rover with their exit money.

That newly instilled discipline should serve founders well in building a fi nancially sustainable business. Maybe even one they can pass on to their kids like the AriZona Iced Tea, Milo’s Sweet Tea and Joe Tea guys have done. (What is it about iced tea that supports these family values?)

Just hop on the bus, Gus. Choose a big TAM, Pam. “Total addressable market.” It’s everybody’s favorite new acronym.

What does it mean? It means, by way of example, if you’re a construction company that has invented a cheaper, more sustainable device than a roof – that’s a gigantic TAM! (Pretty much everybody but cave dwellers in New Mexico and unsheltered people on Market Street in SF.) I actually have more mixed feelings on this one than I let on earlier. Yes, it’s beneficial for entrepreneurs to focus on opportunities of meaningful scope. But sometimes pursuing your passion, no matter how niche, and course correcting as needed can yield a rich trove of opportunity. It might turn out that your obscure idea solves a problem that’s bedeviled lots of folks. When you think about it, something like a gut pop, while it boasts a TAM of “ALL OF SODA!!!” had to be a calculated risk in its earliest days. Canned sodas with some kind of thingies in them that help your – microscope, was that? Microsoft? Microbiome! Yet early in, it’s already turned into half-billion-dollar market at retail. This calculation can get complicated. What’s the TAM on protein water? Is it Vitaminwater + Muscle Milk? Or is it a niche? I really like this category, but it has struggled to ignite. One of the casualties of the past year was the well-crafted Trimino line.

cult, particularly for brands whose plans don’t make a lot of sense in the first place. But there is a vast reservoir of capital out there waiting to be deployed. Maybe it’s the next bubble, but creator brands are finding no lack of backers. Proven winners like Lance Collins can always find outside money. The pounds and euros seem to rain down on weird European brands like Huel and Waterdrop. Icelandic Glacial always finds money! For the rest of us, the increments are likely to be modest and hard-earned. And hey, brands are being built right now without any recourse to institutional capital.

Consoli-nation. The feds have been making ominous rumbling sounds about market concentration. And yes, they’ve been going after the tech giants. They also seem to have figured out that market-restraining activities like slotting fees might not be such a good thing. But in more prosaic segments of the economy – like the one where gigantic beer wholesalers buy up all their peers without a murmur of objection – they seem to be asleep at the wheel. Maybe smarty-pants lawyers in Washington simply find warehouses and trucks to be too boring to be worth their concern.

Instead of overreaching with the tech giants they might do well to pursue some of the low-hanging fruit in CPG. Assuming the Biden Administration gets four more years to pursue this agenda, some barriers to small brands and innovation may yet fall.

Strategics mainly not buying. Among the major beer and beverage strategics, one can make the case that only Keurig Dr Pepper has demonstrated a coherent and consistent approach to

Capital is still out there, at least for concepts that make sense. Yes, finding growth funding has become more diffi-

10 BEVNET MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023

Bevscape The Latest Beverage Brand News Keurig Dr Pepper, Electrolit Agree On Long-Term Sales & Distribution Pact Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) in October announced a long-term partnership with Mexican beverage company Grupo PiSA to distribute fast-rising sports drink Electrolit across the U.S., filling a major hole the KDP’s portfolio that’s been missing since watching BodyArmor flee into the arms of Coca-Cola back in 2019.

In a press release tied to the release of the company’s Q3 earnings report, KDP announced that, starting in 2024, it will sell and distribute Electrolit in the “vast majority” of its DSD territories and across all channels of trade.

“Electrolit has experienced exponential growth in recent years, stepping up in a competitive category driven largely by consumers who discover & love our product’s unmistakable efficacy. Keurig Dr Pepper -a known leader at the forefront of an iconic brand roster -- was the right choice to partner with as we enter the next phase of our growth trajectory,” said Caridad Ochoa, President and Chief Executive Officer of Electrolit USA. After decades on the market in Mexico, Electrolit entered the U.S. in 2014 and has spent the last decade carving out a foothold in the category for its rapid-hydration drinks in square 21 ounce PET bottles. The company’s RTDs generated over $394 million in dollar sales (MULO plus-c store) in the 52-week period ended August 31. In September, the company launched on-the-go powder sticks.

After splashing the cash on Bai and CORE Hydration in the late 2010s, KDP’s growth strategy has since centered around finding and aligning with high-growth-potential brands at the right stage of their developments rather than outright M&A. And lately, that’s served them well: roughly a year after investing $863 million for a 30% ownership stake in C4 Energy parent brand Nutrabolt, along with distribution rights, dollar sales for C4 are up 72.6% year-over-year in the 52 weeks ended August 31. That was followed by similar deals with Polar in 2020, Athletic Brewing, and most recently this July when KDP took a $300 million stake (33%) in Philadelphiabased coffee roaster La Colombe and picked up licensing, manufacturing and distribution of its cold brew RTDs. The company also picked up a bonanza in 2021 off of its minority investment in Body Armor, which then sold to Coke.

But, similar to the evolution seen in energy, the sports drinks category is changing in response to a new set of consumers and need states. As seen at NACS in September, both Pepsi (Gatorade) and Coca-Cola (BodyArmor/Powerade) have used those brands as sub-platforms to push further

12 BEVNET MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023

into different formats and product types (water, energy, rapid hydration, protein, powders), while names like PRIME -- already the fourth-largest category brand with well over $450 million in dollar sales this year -- and GHOST are only getting started. Don’t forget there’s notable upstarts like Barcode, Local Weather and Lance Collins’ Recover Organic Hydration 180 vying for dollars here, too.

KDP’s timing on the deal is also key: Electrolit’s gains -growing 18% and now sitting as the fifth-largest brand with an over 3.6 share of the category, according to Circana data -- have come as Coke’s sports drink portfolio has been in decline. And Electrolit has moved the category quickly, opening the door for the rapid hydration segment.

With KDP’s machine behind it, Electrolit will be expected to keep gaining ground -- could more innovation and a potential design makeover be part of the plan? The Pedialyteesque bottles in plastic wrapped labels have a somewhat medicinal feel, though the square shape hasn’t apparently been a major hindrance to velocities, clearly.

Moving Electrolit into KDP’s distribution system will have a ripple effect on DSDs as well, much like what was seen when C4 joined. But as also seen with C4, New York distributor Big Geyser looks certain to continue working with Electrolit, according to an internal email viewed by BevNET. KDP commented in the release that Electrolit will be “building on its Hispanic heritage and regional strengths” to capture a “broad multi-cultural consumer base”; note that the company already has strong ties to Mexico via its partnership with Red Bull and Peñafiel brand, which is being reintroduced in the U.S. next year as a flavored sparkling water line.

Without knowing details of the financial agreement -- is KDP a shareholder in the deal? -- the longer-term implications, at this point, are unclear.

Barcode Launches in New York with Rainforest Partnership Sports drink maker Barcode has partnered with New York City DSD house Rainforest Distribution, setting the stage for the L.A.-based brand to build a presence on the East Coast.

The partnership marks a homecoming of sorts for Barcode founder Mubarak Malik, the former director of performance for the NBA’s New York Knicks. Malik told BevNET that he launched the hydration beverage brand in Los Angeles because there was a clearer path towards building a brand in chain retail stores than in the more diverse, independent-heavy New York market.

To prepare for its Northeast launch, the company has brought on regional sales manager Andrew Braun whose New York CPG sales experience includes turns at Sanzo, US Foods and Brooklyn Food and Beverage.

“New York City is all about relationships,” Malik said, citing Braun’s experience in the market.

Founded in 2020 and positioned as a better-for-you fitness drink, Barcode produces a line of hydration beverages made with ashwagandha, magnesium, vitamins and minerals and just 2 grams of sugar per 16.9 oz. bottle. The startup brand has partnered with pro athletes, including this year’s top NBA draft pick Victor Wembanyama, to help grow awareness.

According to Malik, Rainforest now marks Barcode’s largest distribution partner to date. To date, Barcode’s largest footprint has not been L.A., but Texas, where the drink is distributed by Glazer’s Beer and

Beverage, Dynamo and Silver Eagle and is set to roll out to H-E-B stores within the next 30 days.

However, New York now serves as a focus for the brand. Joining the call, Braun said the brand is employing third party merchandising company Boost to support Rainforest’s distribution and will also be hiring a demoing company to help recruit brand ambassadors.

The brand is already set to launch into accounts like Gourmet Garage, West Side Market and Fairway, Braun said, and is looking at getting into key locations like Food Emporium in Midtown Manhattan.

“You know how New York is structured, it’s not necessarily a lot of chain stores,” Braun said. “We’re tackling them one rep at a time, I’m going in and riding along with them and we’re introducing the product.”

With Malik’s basketball roots, Barcode is also hoping to sell into gyms and other fitness accounts, he said. The brand marks Rainforest’s first sports drink in its portfolio and Malik and Braun noted that the distributor only has limited relationships within that channel, however Braun is now working to make introductions between Rainforest and key gym locations.

“A lot of [Rainforest’s] products are better-for-you and I think it’s just a sector they haven’t really captured yet,” Braun said. “So I’m actually in discussions right now about if we can bring this gym business to them. We’re gonna navigate and see if it’s the right fit, and if not we’ll sign on a gym distributor.”

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Manna Beverages to Acquire Nor-Cal Beverage Co. Manna Beverages & Ventures (MB&V) is set to acquire California-based co-packer Nor-Cal Beverage Company for an undisclosed sum. The deal is subject to due diligence and approvals.

Based in Kentucky, MB&V is an affi liate of Manna Capital Partners, an investment firm founded by former NBA star and businessman Ulysses L. “Junior” Bridgeman and investor Kevin Attkisson. Bridgeman is also the founder of bottler Heartland Coca-Cola, which services Kansas, Missouri, and Southern Illinois, and the owner of more than 200 franchise restaurant outposts, including Wendy’s and Fazzoli’s.

MB&V has aimed to build a portfolio of beverage manufacturing facilities for both alcoholic and non-alcoholic products, and last year announced plans to build a new $600 million, 1.7 million square-foot beverage production plant in Montgomery, Alabama. That plant, which is expected to create around 280 jobs, is scheduled to go online in 2025.

Founded 86 years ago, Nor-Cal Beverage is one of the largest independent beverage co-packers in the Western United States, operating two locations in California and specializing in teas, chilled juices, water, energy drinks and ades with capabilities to produce cans, PET and glass bottles. The business also offers warehousing and logistics as well as specialized equipment services.

“We are excited to add the Nor-Cal Beverage Company business to the Manna Beverages & Ventures portfolio,” said Derrick Register, MB&V President, in a statement. “By continuing

to serve as the solution for major brands, we will capitalize on what Nor-Cal Beverage Company built while opening doors for expanded opportunity.”

According to MB&V, the acquisition is expected to allow Nor-Cal Beverage Company to expand its capabilities. A press release did not specify what new additions might be made, however.

“We are pleased to soon see the positive impact that this impending transaction will have on our employees and customers,” said Shannon Deary-Bell, Nor-Cal Beverage Company President and CEO, in the release. “We will continue providing our brands with the best products while expanding opportunity, capability, and resources for our employees and customers. With new opportunity on the horizon, I am proud to see how this acquisition will change the trajectory of this business.”

Coke Wins NARB Appeal for Powerade Electrolyte Claims Over Gatorade

The Coca-Cola Company will be able to challenge Gatorade’s electrolyte content on Powerade labels after the National Advertising Review Board (NARB) ruled in favor of the company in November regarding Powerade’s claim to have “50% more electrolytes vs. the leading sports drink.”

The NARB ruled that Powerade may continue using the claim so long as it calls out Gatorade by name. Their new recommended phrasing is “50% more electrolytes vs. Gatorade Thirst Quencher.”

The decision overturns a prior ruling from earlier this year that advised Coke to cease using the claim altogether, arguing that it was unsupported by evidence.

Powerade had featured the original call out on its packaging, as well as in two video ads and social media posts, which were reviewed by the NARB and the National Advertising Divi14 BEVNET MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023

sion (NAD) of Better Business Bureau National Programs.

One social media post, which included a “strong arm emoji,” was also called into question as suggesting that drinking Powerade will make a consumer stronger than if they drank Gatorade.

Coke appealed that decision in August and, although the NARB advised against the original wording, this new ruling represents a victory for the beverage giant. In a statement, the company said it “applauds” the decision and will make the recommended changes, as well as discontinuing the past video ads.

While the NAD originally believed that the “50% more electrolyte” claim “overstated the significance of the nutrient difference” between Powerade and its chief competitor, the NARB panel found that Powerade’s recent reformulation – adding addition sodium and potassium – did, in fact, prove the claim true.

Powerade contains 240 mg of sodium and 80 mg of potassium per serving, compared to Gatorade Thirst Quencher which contains 160 mg of sodium and 50 mg of potassium.

While Gatorade is the leading sports drink in the U.S. by sales, the NARB advised Coke to specifically cite the brand’s core “Gatorade Thirst Quencher” line by name, in order to clarify which Gatorade product the claim applies to.

As well, the NARB cleared Coke of wrongdoing with its strong arm emoji post, stating that the post does not communicate “a superiority claim, but merely draws attention to the fact that Powerade increased its electrolytes.”

Better Booch to Acquire Live Beverages in First M&A Deal Startup kombucha brand Better Booch is moving to fi nalize its fi rst acquisition as it has signed an agreement to acquire the assets of fellow fermented drink maker Live Beverages in a move aimed at reaching profitability.

Live was founded in 2012 as Live Soda and produced a line of probiotic sodas in 12 oz. cans that served as a pioneer for the gut health soda category that has emerged in recent years with brands like Olipop, Poppi and Culture Pop. The brand’s current portfolio features a line of organic sparkling probiotic kombuchas in 12 oz. glass bottles featuring soda-style flavors like Root Beer, Cola, Lemon Lime and Cream, among others.

According to Better Booch co-founder Ashleigh Lockerbie, Live’s owners had shifted its focus towards other parts of its portfolio, leading the firm to seek a buyer for the brand.

In 2016, Austin, Texas-based Live raised $2 million in financing from Boulder Investment Group Reprise. Since at least 2019, Live had been owned by Great Point Brands, which had showcased it at trade shows alongside other portfolio brands like the now-defunct Daily Greens. Great Point Brands is a private equity-backed investment management fi rm which, according to LinkedIn, touts several Dr Pepper Snapple Group veterans as executive leaders.

Live is expected to be absorbed into Better Booch and no current Live team members are expected to stay with the brand, Lockerbie said. Better Booch has already begun manufacturing and distributing the products.

The additional revenue from the purchase is now expected to make Better Booch profitable within its fi rst month in the portfolio. The unpalatable alternative to the acquisition for Better Booch was downsizing its team, a decision Lockerbie said the company did not want to make.

“We’re trying to think outside the box,” she said. “I believe the playbook for CPG has changed. The last 20 years of top line growth at any cost is not the playbook anymore, and I think that’s actually really good. Things are coming into more parity and more alignment, and we’re going to see the brands that have real value succeed.”

Similar to Live, Better Booch was also founded in 2012 by Lockerbie and her husband Trey Lockerbie, former touring musicians who began the brand as a small business selling homemade kombucha at Los Angeles area farmers markets.

In 2019, Better Booch raised $2.5 million in a round led by Crush Ventures and brought in an additional $2.5 million in a seed round last year.

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According to Circana, in the 52-weeks ending August 13, Better Booch grew retail dollar sales of its refrigerated kombucha products 45.1% to $2.8 million. Live Soda, meanwhile, reported sales down -34.2% to $3.3 million in the same period. That data does not include ecommerce and may not cover all SKUs sold by the respective companies.

Lockerbie said there are strong synergies between both brands that Better Booch will now look to tap into. While Better Booch is widely established in the natural channel, for example, she said Live has been focused on conventional grocery.

“Buyers that we weren’t able to get meetings with before are now taking meetings with us,” she said.

The strategy going forward is to “lean in” regionally where each brand is already most successful. For Better Booch, that’s the West Coast, while Live has most of its distribution in the Southeast and the Northeast.

The company is now working on a rebrand for Live and is also aiming to relaunch the probiotic soda line, which Lockerbie said was discontinued during the pandemic due to canning shortages but is now on trend with the rise of the prebiotic soda set. As well, Better Booch this summer launched its own twist on the gut health beverage trend, a canned prebiotic sparkling tea line called Cha. Going forward, Better Booch will remain the company’s main focus and Lockerbie said she believes that brand is better positioned as a nationwide product, while Live is more likely to remain as a regional play. The stretch goal is for Better Booch to expand its footprint in conventional grocery alongside natural channel growth and it recently added retailers like Meijer and Fresh Thyme.

Meanwhile, Cha is sowing its seeds in West Coast natural stores, most recently launching in Bristol Farms with Lassens set to come online next month.

Boisson: Non-Alc Retailer Lands Backing From Pernod Ricard’s Venture Arm, Adds New CEO As the momentum behind zero-proof drinks shows no signs of abating, leading non-alc retailer Boisson is taking steps to secure its place within the expanding category, bringing on a new CEO and announcing in September that it has received funding in a $5 million bridge round from Convivialité Ventures, the VC arm of Pernod Ricard, and Connect Ventures.

As Boisson’s new chief, Sheetal Aiyer, a former executive in startups and growth-phase CPG companies, will usher the company into its next era as an omni-channel platform, now equipped with more funding to fuel domestic and international expansion, strategic partnerships, and curated product collections.

As the principal and founder of Vik Charles Consulting, Aiyer has helped scale multiple companies including Cardinal Spirits, Eureka Heights Brewing Company, and Sixpoint Brewery. The new CEO has a longtime friendship with Nick Bodkins, founder and president of Boisson.

Bodkins described the transition as a necessary step in Boisson’s long-term ambitions of becoming a three-prong business: retailer, e-commerce site, and wholesale distributor.

“I think that Sheetal’s experience in the next stage of growth is something that I will be able to learn from as a founder, as we now think about what it looks like to go from here to three-times or four-times from here,” Bodkins said.

Boisson is part of a new generation of businesses growing the burgeoning no-and-low alcohol segment in the U.S. Non-alc beverage sales were about $510 million in the last 52-week period ending July 29, up 31.2% versus a year ago, according to NIQ data.

Since launching in NYC in 2021, Boisson has expanded to eight storefronts across New York City and California, in addition to growing its ecommerce platform, partnering with Drizly, and increasing its revenue 300% from 2021 to 2022, according to the company.

Bodkins will continue to oversee the long-term vision for the company as founder and president, and explore new opportunities for the business internationally.

“While we’re seeing tremendous growth here in the U.S., I think it’s really important for us as we think about what our footprint looks like as curators of this movement, to be able to have a better sort of pulse check on what’s going on everywhere else,” he said.

There are no specific plans to launch a store or e-commerce internationally yet, but Bodkins is aiming for the company to have a “better chest of available resources” for bringing international brands into the U.S. or vice versa. The expansion points to the company’s overarching mission to be a curator at the forefront of the non-alc movement.

While Convivialité Ventures invests in companies beyond Pernod Ricard’s traditional wine and spirits offerings, Bodkins argues that non-alc’s emerging relevance as 18 BEVNET MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023

an additive category to the alcohol industry was a factor in funding alignment. The venture arm backed another nonalc company, Sober AF, earlier this year.

“Boisson plays a key role in the fast-growing non-alcoholic category, by discovering and curating the best NA brands for consumers’’, said Brandon Yahn, partner at Convivialité Ventures. “The company helps the leading NA brands expand their business across Boisson’s retail, ecommerce, and growing wholesale channels.”

The store’s other backer is Connect Ventures, an investment partnership between entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and global venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates (NEA). The tech VC has funded startups such as Typeform, TrueLayer, Lifebit, Oyster and Kheiron.

For Bodkins, the next stage of growth is furthering its “verticalized approach to the market” and leveraging Boisson’s flexibility outside of the three-tier system to continue to sell direct to consumers, into bars and restaurants, and specialty grocery.

“We always had ambitions to grow beyond the traditional three tier system because we don’t have to participate in the three tier system,” he said.

Part of that expansion is continuing to be purposeful in their partnerships and how to advocate for the category, specialty grocery for instance where there’s a lens of discovery for consumers. The founder is skeptical on the rush to grocery by “factions within the category.”

“The grocery teams are reliant on a gigantic CPG machine that has been developed over a long period of time, and it’s a lot more about low prices, margin and a focus on four-foot sections,” he said. “I think we are still in the second inning.”

Coca-Cola, Pernod Ricard Team For Absolut-Sprite RTD Cocktail The Coca-Cola Company is taking another step into the beverage alcohol market, announcing the launch of a global partnership with spirits conglomerate Pernod Ricard to introduce Absolut Vodka & Sprite as a ready-to-drink pre-mixed cocktail in 2024.

Available in Sprite and Sprite Zero Sugar varieties, the product will enter select countries in Europe -- including the U.K., the Netherlands, Spain and Germany -- early next year. Per a release, the global benchmark for alcohol by volume (ABV) is 5% but will vary depending on the market.

The release marks another instance of Coca-Cola teaming with a spirits company to integrate one of its top-selling IPs into a ready-to-drink product. Last June, the soda giant partnered with Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey to release a pre-mixed Jack & Coke in 12 oz. cans (5% ABV), becoming the first alcoholic drink

to carry Coke’s official branding and packaging. The line debuted in Mexico before launching in the U.S. in March.

Coca-Cola also licenses its brands to third parties for use in alcoholic drinks; Topo Chico Hard Seltzer and Simply Spiked Lemonade are produced via partnership with Molson Coors, while Constellation Brands makes Fresca Mixed.

“We keep consumers at the center of everything we do as we continue to develop our portfolio as a total beverage company,” said Coca-Cola’s chairman and CEO James Quincey in a statement. “We are expanding in the alcohol ready-to-drink space, including products that use select brands from our core portfolio. We are excited about our new relationship with Pernod Ricard and look forward to the introduction of Absolut & Sprite.”

Meanwhile, Pernod Ricard has made RTDs a growing focus in recent years; in 2022, the company acquired French

startup Cockorico and invested $22 million to add its first-ever canning line for pre-mixed cocktails. Along with products in other spirit categories from brands like Jameson and Malibu, Pernod Ricard currently markets a line of vodka soda RTDs under the Absolut label.

“This very promising and pioneering project brings together two leading companies who are committed to offering their consumers new experiences around premium products,” said Alexandre Ricard, CEO of Pernod Ricard.

For more stories, check out Bevnet.com

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Noshscape The Latest Food Brand News Cibo Vita Acquired By PE Firm Citation Capital Cibo Vita, the parent company of Nature’s Garden, in October sold a majority stake of its better-for-you snack business to Citation Capital, a private equity firm focused on founder and family-led companies.

The food company was founded in 2009

by Emre Imamoglu and Ahmet Celik who now serve as CEO and president, respectively, and have both retained “significant ownership interest” according to a press release. Citation is Cibo Vita’s first and only external shareholder.

“We found a differentiated partner in the Citation team, given their resolute focus on performance and deep understanding of the importance of values and culture in founder-led businesses,” Celik said in a press release.

Cibo Vita began as a private label healthy snack producer and launched its flagship Nature’s Garden brand in 2011.

Today, the New Jersey-based company owns three manufacturing facilities, employs over 900 individuals and makes functional snack products for grocery, big box and warehouse/club retailers across the country.

Under its Nature’s Garden banner, the company sells a wide array of snacks including trail mix, nut packs and dried fruit products. It also sells snacks under its Chocolate Orchard (chocolate covered fruits and nuts) and Woodpecker (value snacking) brands.

“Our vision in founding Cibo Vita was to bring healthier snacking options to all families, inspired by our Mediterranean roots,” said Imamoglu, in a press release.

“Throughout our history, we have experienced phenomenal growth, attributed to our innovation capabilities, commitment to quality, and a drive to meet the needs of consumers increasingly seek-

ing healthier functional snacking. We sought out a strategic partner that could help ensure that we stay on the forefront of innovation and who is aligned with our personal core values.”

Dallas-based Citation Capital is a relatively new investment vehicle that was founded earlier this year by Tiffany Hagge, who brings two decades of investment banking experience, and Lydie Hudson, a former Credit Suisse executive. The firm is said to be focused on the consumer products, industrial and business and financial services sectors. “[The founders] put everything they had into building Cibo Vita into a highly innovative, profitable business that provides value-added services and products to some of the most coveted customers in North America,” said Hagge in a press release. “Cibo Vita exemplifies Citation’s investment philosophy in backing fundamentally strong, defensible businesses with exceptional cultures and shared values, helping them to become ‘best in class’ in their segment through strategic partnership, operational excellence, and a relentless focus on execution.”

Smashmallow Wins $21M From The Case That Caused Business Shut Down Snacking marshmallow brand Smashmallow might be no more, but at least the company has won a measure of justice: by that we mean a roughly $21 million measure. In a lawsuit against the equipment company that Smashmallow founder Jon Sebastiani said ultimately caused its downfall, the verdict has provided “a sense of redemption.”

In October, a Sonoma County Court jury found that Netherlands-based company Tanis Food Tec B.V. failed to deliver working production equipment to the marshmallow brand, which violated its contract and caused damages to Smashmallow. The Sonoma Brands-backed company was awarded $6.66 million for past losses, $14.3 million for expected future losses and, once the total sum is determined, will be reimbursed for attorney fees and expenses.

A representative for Smashmallow’s lawyers told NOSH that because the machinery was never able to “make marshmallows to Smashmallow’s specifications,” ultimately the company “had no choice but to wind down its operations.” Noah Hagey, one of Smashmallow’s lawyers, posted on LinkedIn that the “breaches and deceptions destroyed everything” for his client.

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Smashmallow hired Tanis in 2018 to build a custom production system that could accommodate the product’s coatings and color varieties; one particular need: a system to safely coat all sides of its popular Cinnamon Churro SKU with a powdered mixture. Despite paying Tanis approximately $2.1 million, Smashmallow said the machinery never properly worked, and released unsafe amounts of microscopic air particles from the Churro SKU’s cinnamon and sugar coating process. Though the machinery was under warranty, requiring Tannis to “repair, replace, or redesign,” the system, Tanis refused to fix it and also demanded its final $300,000 payment.

In order to continue producing its marshmallows, Smashmallow was forced to spend over $100,000 on new equipment, but the machinery was slow and produced substandard marshmallows.

Due to all of these issues, and after years of trying to “fix the machine and mitigate its damages,” Smashmallow was unable to hit production requirements by its co-packer and was forced to pay a half a million dollars in penalties. The company fell behind in production, missed on-shelf commitments to retailers and was eventually forced to close operations.

Daily Harvest Chief Supply Chain Officer To Become CEO Daily Harvest founder and CEO Rachel Drori has stepped away from overseeing day-to-day operations at the frozen food company, turning the reins over in October to chief supply chain officer Ricky Silver.

Silver was promoted immediately to the newly created role of president and will subsequently move into the role of CEO next February. Prior to joining Daily Harvest in 2018, Silver spent close to three years in innovation-centered roles at Vita Coco, and over five years in R&D at PepsiCo. “Ricky has been by my side for over five years” Drori wrote in a LinkedIn post about the leadership transition. “In addition to being an indispensable partner to me, he is deeply committed to our mission and values.”

In her post Drori said that she will work with Silver throughout the transition, after which she will remain on as Daily Harvest’s chair of the board and continue to be involved with business and brand strategy.

Drori also revealed that she “went through a profound health scare” and the leadership change will offer her

the space needed to “focus on her own health.” She also plans to continue working to effect change in the food system and serving as a strong advocate for the Daily Harvest brand.

Drori has long been vocal about the need to embrace more sustainable agriculture efforts, and in recent years has leveraged the company’s supply chain as a means of pushing for change. In 2022 Daily Harvest’s “Bite Me” campaign sought to raise awareness for underserved farmers via ads in major newspapers and via a light projection on USDA headquarters, and in tandem, the company announced multi-year partnerships with both the American Farmland Trust (AFT) and California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF).

“This is an exciting time for the business to grow and reach new consumers and I can be most effective when representing the company and mission to the outside world,” Drori said. “As a result, I’ve decided it is time to change the role I play. Instead of running the daily operations of the business, I need to spend my time advocating for our beliefs and disrupting the system to create the food we all deserve.”

Silver’s appointment, however, comes at a challenging time for the frozen smoothie and meal company. On the sales front, the company made the leap from D2C into retail, launching into about 1,000 Kroger-owned stores this past summer. It also launched new product formats such as multi-serve grain packs.

In June 2022 the company was forced to issue a recall after the tara flour in its newly launched protein crumbles sickened hundreds, causing gastrointestinal illness and liver dysfunction.

Just as the negative headlines began to die down, Bloomberg released an expose on Daily Harvest, alleging that Drori and the company mishandled the recall. Daily Harvest has denied the allegations by Bloomberg. Behind the scenes, Daily Harvest has also undergone several rounds of layoffs, looking to trim overhead and reduce spending as consumer spending on meal kits began to normalize after a COVID-19 pandemic-induced spike.

The headwinds and setbacks came soon after the company announced its own series D round of funding, which Daily Harvest said valued the company at over $1 billion.

4th & Heart Gets $10M To Scale Ghee Stick Production With an eye towards scaling its ghee stick innovation, 4th & Heart secured a $10 million growth equity investment in midNovember led by existing investor Cambridge Companies SPG. The raise also included backing from new and existing investors including Boulder Food Group and Harbinger Ventures as well as 15 professional athletes and several food industry operators and influencers.

“The business has seen an outsized amount of growth relative to our capacity in our [current] facility,” CEO Max Dichter told NOSH. More capacity will come in the form of expanding the manufacturing capabilities in the company’s existing 30,000 sq. ft. production facility. which will scale production of the company’s ghee sticks. 4th & Heart moved to self-manufacturing last year, receiving $1 million from Bridge Finance Group to help the brand acquire new equipment.

As of November, the brand was operating out of a manufacturing facility and fulfillment warehouse but will use the new capital to pay for “proprietary equipment” within the existing additional space to keep up with growth and demand for the ghee sticks.

The purpose of the round is to “increase revenue output ca22 BEVNET MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023

pacity, to bring that capacity to about $175 million” , said Filipp Chebotarev, Cambridge Companies managing partner and COO, giving the company flexibility in how it can grow, especially with its ghee stick innovation.

The sticks are currently in the chilled dairy case in about 1,200 retail doors, the sprays are in 2,300 stores. Whereas, 4th & Heart’s jarred ghees are on ambient shelves in 16,000 stores; yet, in locations where both sticks and jars are both sold, the sticks are already “meeting and exceeding the velocities” of the jars, Dichter said. Currently, the sticks are sold in retailers including Kroger, Whole Foods and specialty stores like Citarella and Erewhon.

The new round places Cambridge with about 30% ownership in the business. Cambridge has invested $175 million since it was founded in 2016 across 20 companies including Once Upon A Farm, Tosi Health, Nona Lim and The Coconut Cult.

Though the “first close” was in mid-November, Chebotarev said, there is an “opportunity to stretch a little beyond that” and there are ongoing talks with existing and new investors to add to the current round.

With this round, 4th & Heart has raised at least $26 million including equity and equipment debt financing.

Repole’s Impact Capital Acquires Majority of Junkless Foods Impact Capital, the private equity group of CPG entrepreneur Mike Repole’s family office Driven Capital, has acquired a majority stake in snack bar brand JUNKLESS Foods, according to an October announcement.

“We have poured our heart and soul into getting JUNKLESS to where it is today, but we knew we needed something more to take us to the next level,” said Ernie Pang, co-founder and CEO of JUNKLESS, in a press release. “We could not have asked for better partners in Mike and the Impact Team, who share our passion for JUNKLESS and see the incredible potential of our brand, and know how to get us there.”

Terms of the deal and future operating plans were not disclosed. A press release notes that Impact will “partner” with Pang and co-founder Larry Beyer.

Founded in 2017, Michigan-based JUNKLESS sells five varieties of limited-ingredient, chewy granola bars and two flavors of crispy protein bars. The company previously sold a line of crispy cookies, which have since been discontinued.

According to JUNKLESS’ website, the snacks are available in retailers including Walmart, Kroger, Giant, Stop & Shop and Food Lion as well as on Amazon. As of 2022, the products were sold in more than 6,000 doors nationwide.

JUNKLESS raised $500,000 in 2016, according to filings with the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC). It is also listed as a portfolio company for Quake Capital.

Along with capital, Repole brings expansive expertise in the snack space to the bar brand. In 2009 he acquired a majority share of Pirate’s Booty alongside investment firm VMG; the puff brand was later sold to B&G Foods in 2013 for $195 million. Repole was previously an early investor and board member for snack bar brand KIND. Within beverages, he has co-founded Vitaminwater and BODYARMOR, both of which sold to The Coca-Cola Company for $4 billion and $8 billion, respectively.

In July, Impact Capital also acquired the majority of sneaker and apparel brand Nobull.

“We saw a huge opportunity for JUNKLESS to become a major brand. Everyone is looking for better-for-you versions of their favorite snacks – and that’s exactly what JUNKLESS provides,” Repole said.

Junkless has seen significant growth over the past year. According to IRI data (MULO + c-stores) for the 52-week period ending August 12, the company’s total dollar sales increased 82.6% to more than $18 million.

Despite raising prices about 11% (a $4.49 uptick) JUNKLESS has managed to maintain unit velocity with volume growth rising 63.6% over the past year, per IRI. The brand’s growth rate is outperforming the granola bar category at large, which saw sales increase 9.3% while volumes declined 4.5%, on average, and prices went up nearly $4. But JUNKLESS still has some catching up to do; currently category leaders (in terms of total dollar sales) are Nature Valley ($676 million), Quaker ($453 million) and Sunbelt ($137 million). The broader snack bar category also reported similar sales/ volume dynamics.

Second Nature Picks Up Sahale From Smuckers Snack platform Second Nature Brands (SNB) is now the owner of nut brand Sahale Snacks, acquiring the brand in September from The J.M. Smucker Company.

The all cash transaction was valued at roughly $34 million and included trademarks and other intellectual property, as well as Sahale’s leased manufacturing facility in Seattle. According to a press release, employees at the plant will transition to SNB as well.

For the fiscal year ending April 30, 2023, Sahale reported net sales of $48 million.

Though the product line is sold internationally, Smucker’s said the brand’s revenue derives largely from U.S. sales. Sales are almost in line with when Smuckers bought the brand in 2014, at that time reporting the nut brand’s revenue at $50 million.

The deal is the CapVest Partners-owned company’s second purchase in under a year. Its efforts to ramp up expansion of its snack and treat platform date back to a 2021 rebrand, which saw Kar’s Brands transition its Kar’s Nuts, Sanders Chocolates and Second Nature Snacks lines under a new Second Nature moniker. The goal, execu-

tives told NOSH at the time, was to create a parent company to provide the portfolio a more unified framework, and ultimately, support further brand additions.

In December 2023, SNB then added Brownie Brittle, purchasing the treat line from Encore Consumer Partners.

“Sahale Snacks adds a fantastic super-premium product to our range, considerably broadens our snack mix & nut portfolio and unlocks significant new opportunities for us to help grow the category,” said Victor Mehren, CEO of SNB in a press release For Smuckers, the deal is evidence of the company’s ongoing efforts to narrow its attention towards more profitable, growing sections of the business, in particular, its wildly successful Uncrustables brand.

The nut butter and spread company made its own acquisition, picking up Twinkie, Ho-Ho, Voortman Cookie and Ding-Dong maker Hostess for $5.6 billion.

“The divestiture of the Sahale Snacks brand will support continued growth in our Consumer Foods business,” said Mark Smucker, Smucker’s chair of the board,

president and CEO. “As always, any decision that impacts our employees is only made after careful consideration and I want to thank all who have supported this brand, which has played an important role in our consumer foods portfolio.”

According to an IRI report from January 2023, the snack nuts market saw a 2% drop in dollar sales and 4.1% drop in volume year-over-year, with the data company noting branded products within the category are subject to cannibalization by private label brands.

That said, consumers are still looking for better-for-you snacks, the data company wrote, and snack nuts are a core driver of that category. When surveyed, 26% of consumers said snack nuts support mental wellbeing and 32% said they “help me manage my weight.”

For more stories, check out nosh.com

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Brewscape The Latest Craft Beer Brand News Craft Brewery Consolidation Continues

The trend of small and regional craft breweries partnering across the country continued into the fall.

Two of the bigger deals involved Ninkasi parent company Great Frontier Holdings acquiring Ecliptic Brewing, and Smuttynose Brewing Co. parent company Finestkind Brewing acquiring Five Boroughs Brewing Co. in Brooklyn.

In early November, Great Frontier Holdings – the craft beverage platform formed by the merger of Ninkasi Brewing and Wings & Arrow earlier this year – purchased the assets of Portland, Oregon-based Ecliptic Brewing.

Citing a “really challenging” “past two years,” Ecliptic founder John Harris announced the sale on the brewery’s social media pages.

“We have encountered so many issues that other small businesses have faced: a pandemic, rising cost of goods, supply chain issues and the overall economic climate,” he wrote. “It has gotten to the point where we are no longer able to continue operations, and the company has sold.

“The sale will allow me to pay back our debts and align the brand with a bigger entity to allow it to continue,” Harris continued.

Great Frontier is acquiring Ecliptic’s intellectual property for distribution and bringing Harris on board, CEO Josh Landan said.

“It’s a big deal for us to join forces and for John to come into our business,” he said. “He’s gonna be here with us working on the brands and on the board and he’ll be involved. It’s not like, ‘Hey, great, this is awesome,’ and then ‘see you later.’

“It’s nowhere near anything like that,” he continued.

“He’s obviously one of the most legendary brewers in the PacNorthwest, if not the most. Him working with our director of brewing operations Daniel Sharp – that’s going to be an awesome combo working on these Ecliptic beers moving forward for us.”

Production of Ecliptic’s beers will move 115 miles south to Ninkasi’s facility in Eugene, Oregon. Ecliptic’s taproom closed November 18.

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Also in early November, Finestkind made the Five Boroughs deal, which closed on October 23.

“Smuttynose is a craft beer pioneer, and we share their commitment to high-quality craft beers,” Five Boroughs co-founder and CEO Blake Tomnitz said in a release. “Under their leadership, we’re confident in the brand’s continued growth, reaching even more craft beer consumers across the tri-state area and beyond.”

Five Boroughs co-founder and CFO Kian Oveissi added: “We are incredibly proud of the foundation laid by the entire team here at Five Boroughs over the last six years. Each team member, past and present, has contributed to the success of the company and collectively propelled us to where we are today. I am fully confident that Finestkind will be great stewards, leveraging resources and economies of scale, to ensure the continued growth and future of what the team here has built.”

In the coming months, Five Boroughs’ production will be shifted to Smuttynose’s facility in Hampton, New Hampshire.

However, Five Boroughs will maintain its taproom in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn as an innovation-focused hub for small-batch beers.

In addition to Smuttynose, Finestkind’s portfolio of brands includes spirits-based, ready-to-drink Island District Cocktails. The company is also exploring expansion into nonalcoholic offerings, and is open to further expansion as a geographically diverse beverage platform.

“We do have a large appetite for more M&A – we have additional capacity that is not utilized,” Finestkind CEO Steve Kierstead told Brewbound. “In the short term, the focus is to really make sure that we’re doing right by Five Boroughs and focusing on the brand Five Boroughs and learning the brand and long term growing the brand, but we do have a big appetite for building a platform.”

Blake’s Hard Cider and Austin Eastciders Merge Blake’s Hard Cider and Austin Eastciders have merged under the Blake’s Beverage Company umbrella, bringing together the top-selling cider brands in Texas and Michigan and creating the secondlargest cider company in the U.S, the company announced today.

Michigan-based Blake’s, Texas-based Austin Eastciders and Oregon-based Avid Cider Company, which Blake’s acquired last year, will collectively fall under the Blake’s Beverage Company while continuing to operate as distinct brands, Blake’s Hard Cider founder and CEO Andrew Blake told Brewbound.

The merger was “a cashless” deal that saw each company’s stock rolled up into the new entity, Blake said. The transaction closed October 31.

Chase Kushak, former Founders Brewing chief operating officer, will lead Blake’s Beverage Company as president. Kushak was hired in June in preparation for the acquisition and integration of the teams, Blake said.

Blake’s Beverage Company will operate across New York, Michigan, Oregon and Texas with an expected output of around 200,000 barrels in 2023.

The merger is the latest move by Blake’s in its ambition to compete with market leader Angry Orchard, which is owned by the Boston Beer Company. It follows a $9 million investment last year to build a production facility in Wolcott, New York, with 1

million cases of capacity, as well as the acquisition of Avid.

Those moves were aimed at solving the supply side of Blake’s business, insulating it from the volatile year-over-year apple supply with a “supply chain foundation” across the primary apple-growing regions in the U.S. and infrastructure to scale the business, Blake said.

“When we put together that infrastructure, it just so happened we really shored up our supply chain of apples and had a robust production infrastructure,” Blake said. “And we realized we were in a place where we could bring in more volume to that platform to help scale not only our brands, in Blake’s and Avid, but also brands like Austin.”

Blake believes the combined Blake’s Beverage Company portfolio is set up to appeal to flavor-seeking Generation Z and millennial consumers, while also competing with Angry Orchard.

“The hope with what we’ve put together with Blake’s Beverage Company is a company that can bring competition back to the cider category for AO [Angry Orchard], and hopefully they’ll respond with innovation and investment in the category,” he added. “If that happens, you could see cider doing some really amazing things from a market share perspective and total alcohol, and I think over the next 12 to 18 months retailers, distributors and the general market will start to start to see some of that play out.”

Shiner Enters the Non-Alc Market with Rode0 Golden Brew; More NA Beer in 2024 The Gambrinus Company is attempting to carve out its own slice of the growing non-alcoholic (NA) beer pie with a line of NA Shiner offerings.

The NA series Shiner Rode0 is launching in time for Dry January, beginning with Rode0 Golden Brew, a less than 0.5% ABV American lager.

The year-round beer, available nationally now, has “crisp and malty notes that are perfectly balanced by delicate esters and a gentle hop profi le,” promising to still have “the taste and aroma Shiner is known for,” without the alcohol, according to a press release.

Shiner will follow the launch with two other NA offerings and a Rode0 variety pack in 2024. The second release will be a red amber, launching in February, followed by a third yet-to-be announced style in summer 2024, according to a Shiner spokesperson. The variety pack is also expected to launch over the summer.

NA beer dollar sales are up +29.4% year-to-date (YTD) in Circana-tracked off-premise channels, through November 5, with the segment claiming 0.78%

share of beer dollar sales in the period.

NA volume (case sales) is also up double-digits (+18.9% YTD).

Other veteran craft brands announced plans to capitalize on the growth of the NA market, including Sierra Nevada.

The Chico, California-headquartered craft brewery begins shipping two NA beers – Trail Pass IPA and Trail Pass Golden – in November, with shelves expected to be stocked with 12 oz. can 6-packs of both offerings in time for January 1. The company also expanded its Hop Splash hop water brand with a new year-round offering, Hop Splash Citrus, in November.

Boston Beer Company also plans to prioritize its NA business through Samuel Adams, with the goal of hitting 1.5 million cases of Just the Haze nationally by the end of 2025, Samuel Adams brand director Lauren Price told wholesalers in October.

NA beer has the potential to claim as much as 20% of the beer market, Athletic Brewing co-founder and CEO Bill Shufelt recently said during an interview on BevNET’s Taste Radio Podcast.

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Athletic has driven much of that growth so far, with the non-alcoholic beer maker growing to be the 13th largest craft brewer in the country in 2022.

However, new players in the space may have a harder time fi nding growth, Whole Foods principal buyer for beer Mary Guiver warned at the Beer Institute’s annual meeting in October. Guiver noted that NA beer is now Whole Foods’ “No. 3 category behind craft and import,” but the retailer is already approaching its limit for shelf space dedicated to the segment, and is prioritizing maintaining space and growth for top brands.

Rhinegeist, New Belgium Appoint New CEOs A new wave of craft leaders are taking the helm of top craft breweries such as Rhinegeist Brewery and New Belgium.

Cincinnati’s Rhinegeist named Adam Bankovich as CEO and promoted several other leaders internally in mid-October.

Bankovich, who had served as interim CEO since late April, was promoted to CEO effective October 13. He joined Rhinegeist as chief commercial officer in October 2022, after nine years at San Diego’s Stone Brewing, last serving as VP of sales. He maintained the CCO role while interim CEO. Rhinegeist co-founder Bryant Goulding told Brewbound that the company received 250 applications for the CEO position but Bankovich proved he was the right fit for the role, quickly acclimating himself to every team and department and showing an understanding of the company’s strategy, culture and goals during his time at the helm.

“I watched [Adam] come into a time where we had some serious challenges … and stabilize and create a really clear set of expectations for layers of leadership, and then allow them the autonomy to grow,” Goulding said. “And the feedback that we got, even before he was an interim CEO, was that that clarity was really helpful and it really put a lot of that noise out. And there was a clear signal of what we needed to do to focus our efforts to succeed.

“The massive gains that we’ve just had on cognitive load and focus on what we need to do and what’s really valuable, how do you determine value – there’s so much under the hood that we’ve found valuable in really a short amount of time,” he continued. “[And] it wasn’t Bob and I doing this, Adam has really stewarded this sort of understanding that has turned into financial improvement.”

In addition to Bankovich’s promotion to CEO, Rhinegeist made three additional leadership promotions: • Cole Hackbarth was promoted to VP of brewery operations; • Marc Venegoni was promoted to VP of sales; • And Tracey Ireland was promoted to VP of marketing.

Meanwhile, New Belgium Brewing Company promoted chief marketing officer Shaun Belongie as its next CEO of New Belgium, effective in early November.

Belongie took the spot left vacant by Steve Fechheimer earlier this year.

Fechheimer’s planned departure was announced in June, with his last day on July 21. He spent more than six years at the Fort Collins, Colorado-based craft brewery, overseeing the company’s acquisition by Kirin-owned Lion Little World Beverages.

New Belgium is now the name for Lion’s full U.S. business, including the Colorado brewery itself, Michigan-based Bell’s Brewery and Kansas-based Distinguished Vineyards, a company spokesperson told Brewbound.

Belongie has served as New Belgium CMO for the past five years, helping the company build its Voodoo Ranger brand, including tripling brand sales from three to nine million cases over three years, and launching Voodoo Ranger Juice Force, the biggest innovation by dollar sales in craft beer history, according to the release.

“To some degree this appointment is really a vote of confidence from Lion, our parent company, that we have this great leadership team in place,” Belongie said.

“And that leadership team has really talked about this idea of where we need to go.

It’s taking where we are today – which is obviously pushing the bounds of what craft beer was – and then thinking about what that new future is going to look like.”

In his new role, Belongie will also be responsible for helping lead Bell’s Brewery, alongside Bell’s EVP Carrie Yunker.

As CEO, Belongie’s focus will be on “continuing to drive the momentum behind the things that are working,” a large chunk of that being New Belgium’s Voodoo Ranger brand. However, there is also “some positive momentum on the Bell’s side,” Belongie said.

“Voodoo Ranger is the obvious thing that’s working, but there’s a lot in the Bell’s portfolio that’s really started to work now as we’ve doubled down behind these iconic brands that really drive the Bell’s portfolio,” he said.

30 BEVNET MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023

Oskar Blues’ Austin Brewery and Taproom Closes; Ninkasi Shutters Better Living Room The Oskar Blues brewery and taproom in Austin, Texas, has closed.

Monster-owned CANarchy confirmed the Austin brewery’s closure to Brewbound, issuing the following statement: “After more than seven years of producing and serving our beers from the Oskar Blues Brewery and taproom in Austin, Texas, we’ve made the very difficult decision to wind down operations at the facility. Austin’s current production will be shifted to other CANarchy facilities, and all our products will remain available for sale at retail in the state of Texas.

“We have enjoyed being part of the Austin craft beer and music community and we thank everyone who has supported our business along the way. We will always consider this chapter and our time in Austin an important part of the Oskar Blues and CANarchy legacy. At this time, our top priority is communicating with and supporting our internal team through this transition and therefore, we have no further comment.”

The 50,000 sq. ft. Oskar Blues Austin brewery and taproom opened in August 2016, about a year after plans were first announced.

Oskar Blues continues to operate breweries and taprooms in Longmont, Colorado, and Brevard, North Carolina. The Oskar Blues brand and the CANarchy Craft Brewery Collective were sold to energy drink maker Monster in January 2022 in a $330 million cash deal.

Meanwhile, Ninkasi Brewing has shuttered its Better Living Room taproom in Eugene, Oregon.

The company cited increasing costs leading to challenges in making “the BLR experience profitable while maintaining our commitment to local sourcing, high standards and employee benefits.”

“As we prepare to endure the anticipated challenges of the winter months, the Better Living Room can no longer continue to weather these storms without putting the rest of the Ninkasi Brewing Company employees in jeopardy,” the company wrote. “Multiple other local breweries, restaurants and small businesses have had to make similarly difficult decisions in the last couple weeks and months. The larger craft beer industry is continuing to experience headwinds like we have not experienced …”

Two Roads and Guy Fieri Team Up for Flavortown Spiked FMB A frequent haunt of late for Guy Fieri’s red convertible isn’t a diner, a drive-in, or a dive, but rather Stratford, Connecticutbased Two Roads Brewing.

The Food Network star and the regional craft brewery have teamed up to launch Flavortown Spiked Fruit Punch, a 6% ABV flavored malt beverage (FMB) that will hit retailers later this month. It “likens back to a Hawaiian Punch for all intents and purposes,” Two Roads co-founder, president and CEO Brad Hittle told Brewbound.

Flavortown Spiked Fruit Punch will launch in 12 oz. can 6-packs in November, with 19.2 oz. single-serve cans to follow in January. A variety 8-pack with more punch and tea flavors will roll out in time for spring resets.

The collaboration began a year ago when Two Roads was exploring its portfolio strategy and innovation conversations kept circling back to flavor. Who better to lead the charge than the mayor of Flavortown himself?

Fieri – the spiky-haired, gregarious TV chef who hosts Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and Guy’s Grocery Games, among other shows – has become synonymous with his Flavortown catchphrase and vast flavor-centric business empire, with 17 restaurant concepts worldwide.

Flavortown Spiked isn’t Fieri’s first foray into beverage-alcohol. In 2022, he starred as the mayor of the futuristic Land of Loud Flavors in a Super Bowl commercial for Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Bud Light Seltzer Hard Soda.

The Two Roads’ partnership goes deeper than Fieri appear-

ing in ads. Fieri has had input at every step of the process, from flavor development to ingredient procurement. The Flavortown Spiked line uses real fruit juice and “really high-quality teas,” an investment Hittle said was necessary to go to market.

Fieri has also been generous with his time. He’s been on phone calls and Zoom meetings with the brewery’s distributor network and key national accounts. During the brewery’s annual distributor meeting earlier this fall, Fieri called in and chatted to the group more than twice as long as his allotted 15 minutes.

“Sometimes you get into these celebrity things and there’s an automatic level of trepidation,” Hittle said. “Because you’re dealing with celebrities, you don’t know how much they’re really going to get behind it. And none of these will work if the celebrity doesn’t really activate it. If the celebrity’s just lending their name and face, you’re bound for failure, because the distributors and retailers and consumers aren’t going to get it.”

Two Roads will lean into Fieri’s star power to support the Flavortown Spiked launch, with a scheduled feature as the exclusive FMB of Fieri’s Flavortown Tailgate broadcast during the Super Bowl. Fieri will also make in-person visits to on-premise retailers in his travels for Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Hittle said.

“He is the real deal. He’s just a wonderful, warm, real person,” Hittle said. “He’s doing this because he’s excited about it, and he’s going to get behind it, which he’s already demonstrated. So we’re totally jacked up because we teamed up with somebody who’s perfect for this.”

For more stories, check out brewbound.com

31

New Products The Newest Beverage Options ENERGY Dwanta Claus is comin’ to town! Getting a head start on the holiday season, energy drink maker ZOA has launched a new limited edition flavor, Dwanta’s Holiday Punch. As the name suggests, the new variety is inspired by cofounder Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s holiday alter ego. Each 12 oz. can of the cranberry and citrus-flavored beverage packs 160mg of caffeine and contains zero sugar. Dwanta’s Holiday Punch is available via the brand’s website for $24.99 per 12-pack. For more information, visit zoaenergy.com.

Red Bull has unveiled this year’s Winter Edition flavor, Pear Cinnamon. The LTO comes in a magenta-colored can and is available in 8.4 oz. single-serve cans, 12 oz. single-serve cans and 4-packs of 8 oz. cans. For more information, visit redbull.com/us-en.

Health-forward energy drink maker G.O.A.T. Fuel has named The Vitamin Shoppe as the exclusive retailer of its new Pineapple Cream Soda and Black Cherry Ginger Ale flavors. The exclusive flavors, like the rest of the brand’s products, are powered by natural caffeine, green tea, BCAAs and 10 essential vitamins.

G.O.A.T. Fuel’s Pineapple Cream Soda and Black Cherry Ginger Ale are available on The Vitamin Shoppe’s website for $34.99 per 12pack of 12 oz. cans and at The Vitamin Shoppe locations nationwide. For more information, visit vitaminshoppe.com.

CSDs MTN DEW is hoping to help gamers level up with the return of its Game Fuel beverage. The drink, which has begun rolling out to retailers nationwide, is available in MTN DEW Game Fuel Citrus Cherry with Halo Infinite (returning) and MTN DEW Game Fuel Mystic Punch with Diablo IV flavors. For more information, visit mountaindew.com.

Dr Pepper is turning up the heat with the launch of its newest LTO, Hot Take. The new offering harnesses the power of bold, spicy peppers and, according to a press release, pays homage to “all the hot takes” that come with the college football fandom. Fans can get their 32 BEVNET MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023

hands on Dr Pepper Hot Take in two ways – by logging into or enrolling in the Pepper Perks program and playing a scratch-and-win for the chance to score the LTO or by redeeming 3,000 reward points. For more information, visit drpepper.com/s/.

Detroit-based Faygo has unveiled its newest carbonated soft drink flavor, Faygo Dreamin’.

The new variety was crafted to evoke nostalgia with a flavor reminiscent of the classic orange cream frozen treat. Faygo Dreamin’, a caffeine-free beverage, will soon hit store shelves in 20 oz. and 24 oz. bottles. For more information, visit faygo.com.

RTD COFFEE Just in time for the ho, ho, holidays, Super Coffee has brought back its seasonal Peppermint Mocha Latte. Each 12 oz. bottle boasts 200mg of caffeine and 10 grams of protein. The drink is available for a limited time on Amazon for $39.99 per 12-pack. For more information, visit drinksupercoffee.com.

Canned milk maker Slate is introducing its latest flavor innovation for its coffee latte line: Caramel. Made with 20 grams of protein and 175 mg of caffeine, the lactose-free beverage is made with ultra-filtered milk and zero grams of added sugar. The drink is now available online direct-to-consumer for $36.99 per 12-pack of 11 oz. cans. For more information, visit slatemilk.com.

CANNABIS Portland, Oregon-based Aprch has expanded its portfolio of CBD-infused seltzers with its new Aprch Photo Series can collection. The premiere installment of the series, No. 1, showcases the photography of Tal Roberts. Each limited edition 12 oz. Black Cherry can (25mg CBD) features a distinct black-and-white skateboard photo taken by Roberts. Aprch Photo Series No. 1 is available via the brand’s website for $39.99 per 12-pack of 12 oz. cans. For more information, visit drinkaprch.com.

The Drinkable Company has expanded its THC-infused beverage lineup with the release

of its fi rst seasonal offering, Zenith Nitro Cold Brew: Pumpkin Spice. Each 12 oz. can contains 5mg of THC and “invigorates your mind in under 20 minutes,” according to the brand. Zenith Cold Brew: Pumpkin Spice will be available at select retailers throughout Massachusetts. For more information, visit drinkableco.com.

SPIRITS For Freeland Spirits’ latest limited edition whiskey launch, master distiller Molly Troupe collaborated with Camas Country Hill to select heritage and ancient grain varieties – great northern rye, purple karma barley and buckwheat – that are stonemilled to preserve full fl avor. Freeland’s Rye Whiskey marks the brand’s fi rst batch of 100% Oregon-grown and distilled rye whiskey. Bottled at 50% ABV, the new spirit is available via the brand’s website for $99.99 per 750ml bottle. For more information, visit shop.freelandspirits.com.

Women-founded, farmed, distilled and led spirits brand 1953 Spirits has officially debuted in the market with the launch of its additive-free Tequila Añejo. The tequila is derived from 100% Blue Weber agave harvested from the Jalisco highlands and is aged for 15 months in vintage American oak barrels previously used for bourbon. 1953 Tequila Añejo is available exclusively on ReservBar.com for $205 per 750ml bottle. For more information, visit 1953tequila.com.

Dread River has announced the launch of its most exclusive and limited edition bourbon, Master Series Batch 2. The LTO, created in partnership with United States Air Force Master Sergeant Trey Bruner, is a doublebarrel straight bourbon aged fi rst in American oak and then French oak casks. Dread River Master Series Batch 2 (106 proof) is available for a SRP of $106.99 per bottle. For more information, visit dreadriver.com.

NON-ALC RTD mocktail maker Free AF has unveiled its fi ft h fl avor release, Cucumber G&T. Like the rest of the brand’s beverages, Cucumber G&T is enhanced with Afterglow, a 100% botanical heat extract mimicking the warmth of alcohol. The new drink is available for 34 BEVNET MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023

purchase on the brand’s website for $39 per 12-pack of 8.4 oz. cans. For more information, visit us.af-drinks.com.

To celebrate becoming co-owner of non-alc beverage brand MIXOLOSHE, singer-songwriter Zayn Malik launched his first mocktail flavor, Lychee Martini. According to a press release, the new product is “sweet, floral and slightly tropical.” Each 12 oz. can features wraparound replica illustrations of Malik’s most beloved tattoos. MIXOLOSHE Lychee Martini is now available in a 4-pack at Walmart for $9.98 while 12-packs are available exclusively online at Walmart.com, Amazon. com and MIXOLOSHE.com for $34.99. For more information, visit mixoloshe.com.

Non-alcoholic wine maker Proxies has unveiled its latest innovation, Gold Crush. According to a press release, the flavor profile of the new product is “a symphony of ripe peach, fragrant yuzu and a hint of fennel on the finish.” Each serving has 25 calories and 3 grams of sugar. For more information, visit drinkproxies.com.

POWDERS Celsius has expanded its lineup of On-The-Go powders with the addition of two new flavors: Strawberry Coconut and Blueberry Lemonade. Both flavors are made with green tea extract, Vitamins B and C, guarana seed extract, ginger root and chromium and will soon be available for purchase on Amazon. For more information, visit celsius.com.

BodyArmor has entered the powdered hydration space with a new stick line, BodyArmor Flash I.V. Hydration Boosters, available in Tropical Punch, Cucumber Lime, Grape, Strawberry Kiwi and Lemon Lime flavors.

Rolling out to retail stores now, the powders will be sold in 6-packs and 15-packs. For more information, visit drinkbodyarmor.com.

Psychedelic Water has made its first foray into the powdered beverage space with the launch of Good Mood Mix. Available in two flavors – Watermelon and Blue Raspberry – the product offers a new format of the brand’s flagship ready-to-drink, kava-based alcohol alternative. Psychedelic Water’s Good Mood Mix is currently available via the brand’s website for $29.99 per 14-stick pack. For more information, visit psychedelicwater.com.

Channel Check What’s Hot and What’s Not SPOTLIGHT CATEGORY

WEIGHT CONTROL/NUTRITIONALS As we head into the end of the year, demand for protein is spiraling upward, with the category up nearly 19 percent and major brands all taking big steps forward. Posting the biggest gains? Category leader Premier Protein, up nearly 33 percent and closing on $1 billion in sales; meanwhile, Coke’s Core Power seems to have found the keys to growth, up 73 percent and flooding across channels. Muscle Milk kept pace with the category as well. In a space where the big soda companies compete with groups of HBC-type brands, it’s shaping up to be a big battle for sure.

ENERGY DRINK MIX BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs YEAR EARLIER

Premier

$942,391,920

33.1%

Ensure

$819,386,035

10.0%

Core Power

$627,595,176

73.0%

Private Label

$487,711,293

18.5%

Boost

$483,335,978

3.2%

Muscle Milk

$430,111,767

17.9%

Pediasure

$349,414,984

3.6%

Atkins

$229,483,034

4.4%

Fairlife

$215,424,844

39.3%

Optimum Nutrition

$158,343,289

56.8%

Slim Fast

$148,874,787

-24.3%

Orgain

$129,644,172

19.2%

Glucerna

$127,964,378

3.7%

Body Fortress

$102,679,382

5.3%

Six Star

$97,145,277

15.0%

Dymatize

$83,683,402

52.5%

C4

$71,951,159

-16.5%

Pure Protein

$56,490,542

21.5%

Owyn

$45,136,112

110.5%

Vega

$44,707,452

-19.3%

TOPLINE CATEGORY VOLUME Sports Drinks

$11,712,426,829

10.8%

Energy Drinks

$20,851,590,211

14.3%

Bottled Juices

$8,804,281,384

5.0%

Tea/Coffee

$3,315,422,052

7.2%

Bottled Water

$25,040,001,744

6.7%

Liquid Drink Enhancers

$534,587,734

1.5%

SOURCE: Circana OmniMarket™️ Shared BWS - 52 Weeks Ending 10-08-23

36 BEVNET MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023

CRAFT BEER

ENERGY DRINKS

BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER

BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER

New Belgium

$507,218,945

24.8%

Red Bull

$7,582,571,475

9.7%

Blue Moon

$333,662,552

-7.5%

Monster

$5,760,465,224

12.0%

Sierra Nevada

$317,381,502

1.3%

Celsius

$1,606,828,568

145.8%

Samuel Adams

$210,610,190

-4.5%

Rockstar

$718,082,974

1.6%

Lagunitas

$148,679,948

-11.0%

Reign

$561,030,545

31.5% 179.8%

Shiner

$127,460,307

-2.7%

Ghost

$539,529,345

Elysian

$107,070,596

-4.2%

C4

$504,808,431

65.6%

Founders

$105,959,478

-1.7%

Bang

$494,867,390

-57.4%

Bells

$103,899,385

5.1%

NOS

$485,401,680

14.6%

Firestone

$103,756,142

-9.3%

Alani

$437,059,220

42.7%

SPORTS DRINKS

IMPORTED BEER BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER

BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

Modelo

$4,599,231,445

19.2%

Gatorade

$7,143,147,762

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER 6.9%

Corona

$3,128,005,777

7.3%

Bodyarmor

$1,415,338,077

-11.2%

Heineken

$866,771,499

3.2%

Powerade

$1,225,088,513

0.4%

Dos Equis Xx

$434,033,281

-1.6%

Prime

$565,952,001

896.0%

Stella Artois

$388,557,636

-4.0%

Electrolit

$425,606,161

20.8%

31.8%

Private Label

$80,720,680

17.3%

Pacifico

$329,377,317

Guinness

$172,331,374

1.0%

Pedialyte

$40,910,468

22.2%

Labatt

$156,037,710

7.3%

Biolyte

$40,670,364

10.6%

Tecate

$113,037,963

-13.5%

C4

$9,809,923

-

Fosters

$78,339,089

-0.1%

Suerox

$8,695,285

14.6%

SOURCE: Circana OmniMarket™️ Shared BWS - 52 Weeks Ending 10-08-23

38 BEVNET MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023

FLAVORED STILL WATER

RTD TEA BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER

BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER

Pure Leaf

$998,924,631

4.1%

Glaceau

$1,068,270,499

8.8%

Arizona

$980,843,888

10.4%

Propel

$671,686,973

15.9%

Gold Peak

$582,772,556

15.9%

Hint

$141,205,105

0.2%

Lipton

$546,069,501

-2.2%

Capri Sun

$85,877,626

-16.5%

Brisk

$454,796,838

5.8%

Splash

$84,129,652

-21.3%

Snapple

$367,808,324

-4.0%

Tum E Yummies

$51,714,635

4.5%

Monster

$196,464,750

0.9%

Karma

$34,151,793

1.2%

Guayaki

$150,322,538

7.4%

Monster

$34,006,977

-63.1%

Peace Tea

$100,411,852

24.3%

Lemon Perfect

$33,611,462

87.6%

Private Label

$51,822,950

-19.2%

Private Label

$33,510,620

15.5%

RTD CAPPUCCINO

NONFLAVORED BOTTLED STILL WATER

BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER

BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs. YEAR EARLIER

Starbucks

$2,327,690,604

9.8%

Private Label

$5,463,696,152

13.5%

Monster

$722,068,789

4.4%

Glaceau

$1,277,869,678

15.5%

Coca Cola

$187,833,176

1.5%

Aquafina

$1,246,808,145

-4.1%

Black Rifle Coffee Co

$145,963,297

40.5%

Poland Spring

$939,578,849

8.1%

Private Label

$45,028,287

-27.1%

Dasani

$917,106,343

-6.2%

Kitu Super Coffee

$38,708,922

-30.9%

Pure Life

$794,275,133

7.8%

Intl Delight

$34,647,770

33.3%

Deer Park

$568,868,022

6.0%

La Colombe

$28,543,497

-24.5%

Fiji

$515,276,377

-1.5%

Black Stag

$10,429,420

-22.4%

Essentia

$486,541,830

0.0%

Victor Allens Coffee

$8,842,373

3773.3%

Ozarka

$474,992,975

6.8%

SOURCE: Circana OmniMarket™️ Shared BWS - 52 Weeks Ending 10-08-23

39

NACS Review

By BevNet Staff

The annual National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) trade show, held October 4-6 in Atlanta, was lively as usual this year, giving industry watchers a peek into the innovation strategies and growth plans of powerhouse global brands like Coca-Cola, Red Bull and Pepsi. The most recent edition featured the expected slate of new releases, both also the momentum behind buzzy trends – focus and cognition functionality and candy flavors for energy drinks, among others – still has plenty of gas in the tank.

Along with a more muscular coffee program, Coca-Cola’s presence at NACS mainly showcased product and packaging innovations within its “loved” legacy brands.

Coca-Cola Spiced, a new permanent sub-line that will rotate flavors in and out, starting with Raspberry in February 2024 in both full and Zero Sugar versions. Packaged in 12 oz. slim cans, Spiced isn’t meant to harken to winter seasonal flavors so much as offer “more bite,” or maybe simply a robust Coke experience. At a time when young consumers have so many other beverage options beyond CSDs, it’s imperative to provide a reason for them to choose Coke, the brand explained.

40 BEVNET MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023

The Coca-Cola, Sprite and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar brands will transition to 12 oz. sleek cans (six SKUs total), a move aimed at capturing younger consumers.

That sleek can format is also a focus across CSDs: along with Coca-Cola Spiced, the Coca-Cola, Sprite and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar brands will also transition to 12 oz. sleek cans (six SKUs total), a move aimed at capturing those aforementioned younger consumers. The cans will provide for “dynamic marketing opportunities” over the next year, reps told us, and will be sold in singles primarily at small-format C&G. Elsewhere, Pepsi’s sprawling booth teased updates for its diverse mega-brand portfolio with new products, packaging and positioning.

In energy, Pepsi’s distribution pact with Celsius has been the main story; one year into the deal, Celsius has taken a 10% dollar share in the category and continues to climb. Along the way it surpassed Rockstar, which Pepsi paid over $3 billion for in 2020 to own outright, and over recent years the brand has been tweaking its positioning and messaging to find a foothold in a category that has shifted to broader functional propositions.

At this year’s show, the featured innovation was Rockstar Focus, a zero-sugar 12 oz. subline promising “Energy & Mental Boost” via 200mg of caffeine and Lion’s Mane. The non-carbonated Rockstar Recovery line is also getting a pair of new flavors with unique ingredients — biotin, magnesium and zinc, specifically — that existing SKUs will not. Both are set to launch in January 2024.

In contrast, the Starbucks-Pepsi RTD coffee alliance continues to hum along with 77% market share of the category, so no major rethink is needed there. Instead, there was more incremental innovation: Frappuccino is embracing oat milk (the most popular alt-milk choice in Starbucks cafes) for the first time with a pair of new SKUs, Caramel Waffle Cookie and Dark Chocolate Brownie, each clocking in at at least 270 calories per 13.7 oz glass bottle.

And in a move that perhaps reflects the category’s evolution from specialty item to commodity, Starbucks Cold Brew (updated to be “smoother” and “more coffee-forward”) is moving from 11 oz. squat glass bottles into 12 oz. sleek cans in Vanilla, Chocolate and Caramel. The brand’s three-year old line of Nitro Cold Brew in 9.5 oz. cans has similar flavors (Vanilla, Caramel) but notably that line features a non-dairy black variety, while the updated non-nitro Cold Brews do not.

Much like Coca-Cola and Pepsi, KDP is reinvesting in its flagship trademark soda line to try to attract young consumers, and so far it seems to be working: permanent new SKU Dr Pepper Strawberry & Cream (available in both full and zero sugar varieties) did $300 million in total retail sales, reps at the booth told us, 85% of which was incremental to the trademark.

Core Hydration+, the more function-forward sub-line, lives outside of c-stores for the most part, which clears the way for a “full renovation” of Bai to be positioned as KDP’s enhanced water play in convenience. On the two flavors — Bing Cherry and Molokai Coconut, both launching in March 2024 — displayed at the NACS booth, the trademarked “WonderWater” name is now prominently displayed beneath the brand name, along with a callout for “New Great Taste, More Benefits.”

According to brand reps, Bai has been revamped with an improved sweetener formula, immunity support (vitamin C and zinc) and electrolytes. After dabbling in everything from purified water to teas and lemonade, giving the brand a more focused identity may help revive its fortunes.

The more the company grows (+$404 million over 52-weeks ended Sept. 9, per Nielsen), the more confidence GHOST seems to take in extending its lifestyle-fitness positioning into new categories and product types. And while not officially on display at NACS, the brand shared an early look at its newest innovation for early 2024: a five-SKU line of hydration drinks that represents its first release in resealable 16.9 oz bottles. We sampled Lemon Lime and Kiwi Strawberry flavors.

Giving GHOST fans a non-caffeinated RTD option — much like PRIME did, but the other way around — should help the brand step further into the mainstream. GHOST’s line is set to launch at GNC and will be differentiated by 900mg of electrolytes (including magnesium and calcium) and 100% daily allowance of vitamin C.

41

the

INSIDE BUBBLE An evolving category shifts emphasis back to flavor

By: Martin Caballero

42 BEVNET MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023

F

or a category in which unflavored varieties and a small group of basic flavors have long dominated, a wave of disruption seems to have finally arrived.

After long reigns at the top, the traditional giants – LaCroix, Nestle, Sparkling Ice, private label, along with Coca-Cola and Pepsi – have seen their iron grip on the space slip, while rising names like Spindrift, Liquid Death, Waterloo, Sanzo, HOP WTR, and a resurgent Clearly Canadian have charted significant gains in dollar sales and volume growth, thanks in part to a renewed emphasis on flavor and packaging innovation.

When consumers’ sparkling options grow to regularly include complex hop-infused waters, effervescent Asian fruit flavors and real juice-based varieties, the appeal of a simple lime or lemon SKU may seem pretty flat in comparison.

Bubbles Blow, Bubbles Burst

During LaCroix’s heady years in the mid-to-late 2010s, accepted wisdom suggested that the eventual entrance of Coca-Cola and Pepsi into the category would tilt the balance back in the favor of the soda giants, but that optimistic dream appears uncertain now.

At the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) trade show in October, Coke quietly revealed that its flavored sparkling water line AHA, launched under the gathering clouds of COVID in March 2020, was already headed for an early retirement due to disappointing sales. The line will retain a limited retail presence and will be a part of Coca-Cola Freestyle fountain systems, Considering the expectations and robust marketing support the brand received, AHA’s downward slide is a blow to Coke’s category ambitions, but the company’s decision also suggests its confidence in the potential of premium import brand Topo Chico to keep growing: per Circana data through Nov. 10, Topo Chico’s non-flavored drinks dollar sales grew 23.1% ($220 million) while its flavored SKUs rose 6.6% (over $64 million). Its success in growing from strong regional brand to national player -- boosted by extensions into mixers and alcoholic hard seltzer categories -- suggests Coke will continue to use Topo Chico as a red carpet for future carbonated innovations.

Photo credit: Garnish

43

The brand’s newest release seems to confi rm that notion: as AHA is phased out, Topo Chico Sabores, the brand’s fi rst canned drink, is being positioned to pick up the reins. The three SKU line -- Blueberry, Tangerine and Lime, priced at $1.50 per 12 oz. slim can -- is placing a big bet on flavor by integrating real fruit juice rather than flavorings, a la Spindrift. Sabores, which clocks in between 5 to 15 calories per can, has rolled out in New York, Los Angeles, Denver and select regions within Texas, with expansion planned for 2024.

A notable aside to that: eager to get a piece of Topo’s market share, another Mexican sparkling brand in glass bottles – Mineragua, fi rst introduced in 1997 – rolled out revamped packaging and refreshed branding this year, led by the tagline “Life With Sparkle,” in six formats — individual 12.5 oz. glass bottles, 4-packs, 9-packs, 12-packs, 30-packs and a 1.5 liter PET. For Pepsi, which beat Coke to the punch with the launch of its sparkling flavored water Bubly in 2018, the path ahead is less clear.

Bubly is still hanging around with a 9.9 share of the category, but it’s not scaling: growth was an anemic 1% in the 52-week period that ended on November 10, according to Circana, while its non-flavored waters generated just over $6.3 million during that time frame. That pace won’t be enough to make up ground against flavored category leader Sparkling Ice, which did over $828 million despite slipping 1.6% over the same period.

Elsewhere amongst the large strategics, the focus is generally more on cautious iteration rather than bold revamps. At NACS, Blue Triton shared a restaged version of premium still water line Poland Spring Origins that positions it exclusively as a sparkling water in a 12 oz. slim can in three varieties – Lime, Berries and Peach – all using organic, non-GMO natural flavors. LaCroix has been more willing to push the envelope with new releases like Mojito and Sunshine this fall.

That demand for fl avor has given a resurgent Clearly Canadian runway as well. Having shipped more than 50 million bottles since 2017, dollar sales grew 48% ($52 million) and unit volume was up around 40, thanks in part to line extensions Essence and Zero Sugar.

Retailers have responded: in November, the brand went national with Sam's Club, joining a list of store partners that also features Kroger, Publix, Albertsons, Safeway and Food Lion, among others.

44 BEVNET MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023

FLAVORED SELTZER/SPARKLING/MINERAL DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs YEAR EARLIER

Sparkling Ice

$828,967,997

-1.6%

Private Label

$670,032,196

1.8%

La Croix

$523,941,681

-4.2%

Bubly

$378,863,588

1.0%

Polar

$330,998,513

16.8%

Spindrift

$191,953,806

34.0%

Waterloo

$145,979,164

55.9%

Bubbl R

$112,763,855

42.2%

Perrier

$100,335,090

-35.7%

Aha

$87,705,368

-39.7%

Liquid Death

$72,111,527

235.1%

Topo Chico

$64,282,470

6.6%

Clearly Canadian

$52,614,756

48.0%

BRAND

Schweppes

$28,664,533

-13.3%

Sanpellegrino

$26,575,002

-16.8%

Poland Spring

$24,454,781

-24.4%

Canada Dry

$22,251,036

17.8%

Cascade Ice

$11,689,155

8.6%

Vintage

$10,283,452

-10.2%

Fever Tree

$10,179,148

28.3%

NONFLAVORED SELTZER/SPARKLING/MINERAL DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs YEAR EARLIER

Sanpellegrino

$232,858,478

19.3%

Topo Chico

$220,794,260

23.1%

Perrier

$194,708,760

-3.2%

BRAND

Private Label

$82,192,981

12.1%

La Croix

$45,543,783

13.9%

Polar

$39,236,203

6.8%

Liquid Death

$32,088,007

71.9%

Jarritos

$31,592,041

18.8%

Canada Dry

$15,236,089

16.3%

Schweppes

$10,728,111

-5.7%

Saratoga

$9,697,415

513.8%

Vintage

$8,719,743

-1.7%

Bubly

$6,333,992

27255970.0%

Gerolsteiner

$5,345,199

5.4%

The Mountain Valley

$4,589,932

69.2%

Crystal Geyser

$3,907,745

14.1%

Hals New York

$3,721,461

15.3%

Lagunitas

$3,029,965

34.1%

Proud Source

$2,894,043

109.7%

Syfo

$2,731,353

4.4%

SOURCE: Circana OmniMarket™️ Shared BWS - 52 Weeks Ending 10-08-23

Thirsty for Flavors

The overall category numbers also seems to indicate that flavored sparkling water drinkers are ready to shake things up; according to Circana, volume fell 7% over the 52-week period, while averaging pricing was up around 10%. And on the emerging brand side, they’re eager to meet that demand.

Asian fruit-inspired Sanzo has been one of the big gainers over the past 18 months, during which the New Yorkbased company has picked up new distribution, licensed partners and fundraising to continue driving growth. Its fi ft h flavor, Pomelo, debuted in a new can design in spring, but the introduction of 6-count and 12-count multipacks – the format which drives over 90% of flavored sparkling water sales, according to Sanzo – may represent an even more significant step towards opening new retail doors and channels. Over the course of the year, the format helped earn the brand placements in Jewel-Osco and Gelson’s, while a shift in emphasis from off-shelf

displays from single cans to 6-packs at Whole Foods hasn’t hurt either.

Yet Sanzo is just one of an exciting cohort of startup brands that are bringing bold fl avors into the space.

Aura Bora continues to push ahead as well: with the exception perhaps of the infamous Green Bean Casserole fl avor that returned for a limited run during Thanksgiving, the brand had a busy year of releases with Blueberry Wildflower, Peach Honeysuckle and Honey Pumpkin, as well as their BevNET Award-winning collaboration with Graza Olive Oil on a nonalcoholic “martini.” While maybe not pushing that far, Waterloo (Spiced Apple, Cranberry) and Nixie (Black Cherry Lime) have also explored new taste experiences.

Waterloo has long made its beans with fl avor intense enough to meet the needs of a recovering soda drinker. It looks like that intensity is coming to its own category on a widespread basis as well.

45

Brand News Sparkling Water HOP WTR is introducing its newest offering, Double Hopped. The HOP WTR you know and love has been cold dry hopped with added Mosaic hops and micro-filtered for an even more robust hop flavor and aroma. The brand dry hops with the same amount of hops used in a craft IPA, so this one packs a hoppy punch! As of November, pre-orders are open for this limited offering.

Waterloo Sparkling Water, known for its authentic flavors and lively carbonation, announced the return of its Spiced Apple and Cranberry sparkling water flavors, both as limited-time-only (LTO) offerings this fall. Waterloo’s Spiced Apple and Cranberry are ideal for savoring straight from a chilled can while cheering from the sidelines or in a full-flavor mocktail or cocktail around the firepit.

California-based sparkling water brand Aura Bora has dropped its newest flavor, Persimmon Clove. According to the brand, “persimmon brings a fruity, cinnamony burst of flavor, blended delicately with warming notes of clove.” Like the rest of the brand’s flavors, Persimmon Clove is calorie-free and contains zero sugar. The new offering is available via Aura Bora’s website for $33 per 12-pack of 12 oz. cans.

Just in time for the holiday season, Bubly has announced the return of its seasonal merryberrybublé flavor across Canada.

The flavor, created in collaboration with Canadian singer and songwriter Michael Bublé, is available for a limited time at grocery stores across Canada.

Sanzo – the first-ever Asian-inspired sparkling water brand founded by Queensborn, Filipino American Sandro Roco with a mission to bridge the gap between Eastern and Western culture – released the sixth flavor of its cult-favorite, fruit-forward sparkling water: Pomelo, joining the existing lineup of Lychee, Calamansi, Yuzu, Mango and Asian Pear. All are designed to bring beloved Asian flavors to mainstream American grocery store shelves.

Sparkling water brand DASH released its latest flavor, Lime. The new offering 46 BEVNET MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023

joins the brand’s existing lineup including Mango, Raspberry, Peach, Black Currant and Lemon varieties. Like the rest of the brand’s offerings, Lime contains zero calories, zero sugar and zero sweeteners.

DASH Lime is available via the brand’s website in 4-packs of 12 oz. cans.

Aprch Beverage Co., a trailblazing beverage company known for its commitment to adventure, integrity, health, and the outdoors, proudly presents the inaugural release of the Aprch Photo Series. No. 1 of the series, highlights the remarkable photography of Tal Roberts, a visionary artist who reminds us that photography transcends mere moments; it is an act of creation. In close partnership with Tal Roberts, Aprch Beverage Co. has curated three distinctive black and white skateboard images. These captivating visuals adorn a limited collection of three distinct cans, elevating the enjoyment of their newest flavor, Black Cherry.

CENTR Brands Corp., a pioneering force in the functional wellness beverage industry, is proud to announce the launch of CENTR Enhanced on Amazon.com.

CENTR Enhanced is a refreshing, ZERO calorie, non-CBD functional sparkling water aimed at enhancing gut health and cognitive performance.

Recess has teamed up with The Caker to launch a limited edition Strawberry Rose Cake Kit. Inspired by Recess’ Strawberry Rose Mood flavor, the cake kit includes birthday cake mix, icing mix, a rosewater vial, freeze-dried strawberries and a 4-pack of Strawberry Rose Mood. The Recess x The Caker Strawberry Rose Cake Kit is available online.

Sparkling water maker Topo Chico is extending Spirited, a new line of refreshing cocktails, with three brand new varieties.

The new ready-to-drink cocktail line is inspired by classic cocktails made with Topo Chico Mineral Water. Each can of Topo Chico Spirited is made with real tequila blanco or vodka, real juice and filtered sparkling water. The refreshing new lineup includes Tequila & Lime, Tequila & Grapefruit and Vodka & Lemon.

MOTHERS CHILDREN: and Their

KOMBUCHA BRANDS HOP ON POP, SELTZERS By: Lukas Southard

48 BEVNET MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023

Photo credit: Brew Dr.

L

ong before “functional beverage” was a category unto itself, drinking raw and unpasteurized kombucha – often with some bit of floating “mother” still lingering in the bottle – was the natural gut health drink of choice.

The story of that category is one of growth and evolution, of scaling from independent natural grocery stores into global grocery chains and mass market retail. Along the way there have been

iterations and improvements in taste, packaging and presentation to turn this traditional ferment into a multimillion dollar business.

Thanks to decades of consumer education, microbiomes and probiotics have become household terms. So how come kombucha hasn’t been more widely recognized as the ultimate sugary soda killer for a generation of more informed and discerning consumers?

49

It may be that the probiotics for which kombucha cleared the way have become the launching pad for a more popular set of gut health products, a group highlighted by shelf-stable low-calorie sodas like Olipop, poppi or Culture Pop – that have begun to claw at kombucha’s hold on the functional beverage set.

“Some of the success of kombucha was also its own downfall,” said Erwin Henriquez, senior research analyst at Euromonitor International. “It opened all of these consumers to this functionality. But then they realized,’I don’t like the taste of this specific product. So where else can I find this functionality?’”

According to Euromonitor, the kombucha category peaked during the start of the pandemic and volumes have declined since. In 2020, the off-trade volume of the Carbonated RTD Tea and Kombucha category was over 28 million gallons; it decreased to more than 26 million gallons in 2021 and about 25 million last year.

These conditions have led many kombucha makers towards a decision that years ago was less feasible, but which now feels almost inevitable: to introduce shelf-stable drinks.

Meanwhile, kombucha makers, including some of the biggest brands, like

Health Ade and Humm, have tried to match the new CSD brands with sodalike varieties of their own. Thus far, category leader GT’s Living Foods, perhaps due to its status as the brand that largely created the kombucha phenomenon.

But for nearly every other kombucha brand that has emerged to fight for share behind GTs,, things have been different. In the past 18 months, kombucha makers like Rowdy Mermaid, Better Booch, and Bear’s Fruit have all vaulted into the mix with their own ambient gut-boosting beverages, joining a product landscape that includes the likes of kombucha and non-kombucha brands like Daytrip, Doctor D’s, Mayawell, wildwonder, Blake’s Hard Cider, Vina and De La Calle, to name just a few.

Asheville, North Carolina-based Buchi exemplifies how modern kombucha brands can exist on both sides of the refrigerated divide. Along with a glass bottled kombucha that the founders introduced nearly 15 years ago, its current RFG KOMBUCHA DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs YEAR EARLIER

GTs

$314,134,109

3.2%

Health Ade Kombucha

$113,077,420

7.2%

Kevita

$53,333,330

-19.9%

Brew Dr Kombucha

$37,209,627

12.5%

Private Label

$27,493,205

-5.3%

BRAND

Humm

$23,430,738

18.5%

Aqua Vitea Kombucha

$4,684,535

-3.5%

Health Ade Plus

$4,314,134

1269.5%

Mother Kombucha

$3,073,340

6.3%

221 B C Kombucha

$2,920,454

26.9%

Live

$2,866,030

-42.1%

Better Booch

$2,776,943

35.9%

Big Easy

$1,679,815

368.4%

Big Easy Bucha

$1,359,388

-38.4%

Wild Tonic Jun Kombucha

$1,323,009

139.6%

Rowdy Mermaid

$1,305,558

28.9%

Buddhas Brew Kombucha

$1,203,890

-50.0%

Lenny Boy

$1,027,131

-0.9%

Forage Kombucha

$951,970

17.1%

Tribucha

$837,726

17.5%

SOURCE: Circana OmniMarket™️ Shared BWS - 52 Weeks Ending 10-08-23

50 BEVNET MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023

platform of probiotic drinks now includes two sodas (Wild Pop and Kefir Soda) and an energy drink (Living Energy).

In 2018, Buchi merged with Washington D.C. brand Capital Kombucha and, in the process, developed a private label business for fermented beverages.

The holding company, FedUp Foods, is fi nding a market for making private label kombucha, tepache, functional energy drinks, kefi r and prebiotic sodas along with Buchi’s product lines.

“We didn’t look to (other fermented, functional beverages) as an ancillary product or an alternative to kombucha,” said Zane Adams, FedUp Foods’ co-founder and EVP of strategy and development.. “We just really felt that kombucha was a rocket ship to get it into orbit and we needed a lot of other means to continue its journey. We needed a lot of other kinds of items that create momentum.”

In the past, the name kombucha held an appeal for health-minded consumers but as the landscape for functional beverages has changed, so has the branding and some of the product mix to meet consumers’ needs.

“For brands, it’s important to remember, consumers are not looking for kombucha, they’re looking for gut health,” Henriquez said.

Since October, another well-established kombucha brand, Brew Dr, has begun market testing in the Pacific Northwest a new tea-based, “low-sugar probiotic refresher” called SipJoy. Though still cold-chain distributed, CEO Dan Stangler is optimistic that the four-SKU line (Lime, Orange, Grapefruit and Tea + Lemonade) will open the brand up to more consumers drawn to gut-healthy, mildly sweetened beverages.

“We’re very focused on the core offering of being inspired by tea, really excit-

ed about delivering probiotics beverages in a really clean and organic way and, as we looked at our offerings, we see Sipjoy as being very close to that core,” he said.

THE SELTZER EFFECT ON KOMBUCHA

KombuchaTownfounder and CEO Chris McCoy, who has been making the stuff for about 12 years, has also been experimenting with ways to extend the borders around the core kombucha category.

Kom buch aTow n’s Live Seltzer, introduced in 2020, is a flavored sparkling water containing zero sugar and using kombucha cultures to give it the gut health benefits of probiotics.

Easier to produce, with a lower unit cost, the

52 BEVNET MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023

product also fi lls an opportunity in retail that raw kombucha can’t; it’s shelfstable and thus can be put in multiple locations in-store from end caps to case stacks increasing visibility in places where people shop for sparkling water or other soft drinks.

For McCoy another big advantage of Live Seltzer is that it can “play in a bigger pond.” McCoy decided to remove the term “kombucha’’ from the label, opening the product to potentially spinning it off from KombuchaTown and maybe even selling it to a large beverage company.

This could be an important strategic move because throughout the lifespan of the kombucha category, very few large drink makers have seemed eager to enter the cold-chain, fermented drink space. Only Kevita, thus far, has sold to PepsiCo – a transaction that closed in 2016.

Kombucha “can be a great, profitable business, you can pay your investors dividends, you can be a really good business, but it’s going to be extremely

difficult to fi nd an exit,” said Ken Sadowsky, senior beverage advisor at Verlinvest.

Perhaps that’s why brands are using kombucha as the core, but diversifying into other formats and formulations.

Aqua Vitea has also taken the seltzer approach releasing four SKUs of its shelf-stable Aqua Seltzer positioning as a functional alternative to the various flavored sparkling water brands on the market.

“We’re not necessarily going after that exact same consumer that Olipop is going after but we’re going after that same idea of there being some space over here [in sparkling water],” Aqua Vitea founder Jeff Weaber said. “It still makes sense to the consumer and it’s not confusing.”

The pivot is not always smooth though. Working in different parts of the store and launching new marketing campaigns around different products can prove challenging.

Since launching in 2020, Florida-based Mother Kombucha’s Aqua Bucha, a kombucha-infused sparkling water, has done well in natural and organic channel stores but struggled to fi nd footing in conventional.

Functional sparkling waters “don’t have much of a category to sit in,” co-founder and CEO Tonya Donati told BevNET Magazine. “People don’t go to the water aisle for any type of discovery. The struggle for us is putting it where people that would actually like it but don’t like kombucha will take it off the shelf.”

53

Brand News Kombucha Mother Kombucha is partnering with DOT Foods. Beginning January 2024 both Mother Kombucha refrigerated kombucha line and Agua Bucha shelf stable, kombucha-powered sparkling water will be available through DOT Foods. This partnership expands the Mother Kombucha footprint nationally in the food service channel.

Remedy Drinks’ kombucha is now available at Costco warehouses in the San Diego region, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah.

Available in two flavors – Raspberry Lemonade and Mixed Berry – the delicious, refreshing organic, and no sugar kombucha is only $12.79 for a box of 12/8.5oz cans.

Just in time for the holiday season, Brew Dr. has introduced its limited edition Snickerdoodle flavor. Each 14 oz. bottle contains 70 calories and has 15 grams of sugar. The LTO, which features tasting notes of cinnamon and vanilla, is now available at select retailers nationwide including Whole Foods Market.

Health-Ade has dropped its festive seasonal kombucha flavor, Holiday Cheers. Each sip of the LTO features tasting notes of ginger, vanilla, allspice and cacao. Health-Ade Holiday Cheers is available via the brand’s website for $49.95 per 12-pack of 16 oz. bottles. To celebrate the launch, Health-Ade has teamed up with Los Angeles-based brand Mar Mar to create a limited edition Holiday Minis candle set. Titled The Bold, The Rebel and The Optimist, the 2 oz. votives are wrapped in Health-Ade’s recognizable color schemes. The Mini Candle Set retails for $60, or consumers can bundle the product with a case of Health-Ade for a $10 discount.

Tribucha has teamed up with Grammy awardwinning rock band Greta Van Fleet to launch a special edition of its Controlled Burn Kombucha. The LTO features a blend of cayenne and turmeric and “offers herbal nuances.” All of Tribucha’s raw kombuchas are brewed with 100% organic ingredients and zero additives, syrups or concentrates. The brand’s promotion with Greta Van Fleet will run for 12 months at Public and Harris Teeter, with new packaging designs introduced along the way.

After calling on the passion and creativity of their fans, GT’s Living Foods received over 17,000 submissions for the brand’s first ever fan-created SYNERGY Raw Kombucha. The winning flavor, SYNERGY Pomelo Pink Lemonade, is inspired by the East Asian flavors creator Lily Wei grew up loving: sweet pomelo and tart yuzu. Balanced with a hint of delicate jasmine, SYNERGY Pomelo Pink Lemonade is a modern twist on classic pink lemonade.

Rowdy Mermaid, a leading functional beverage brand, has released its latest innovation: good mood soda, a low-sugar, low-calorie, functional soda infused with 200mg of ashwagandha extract. This is Rowdy Mermaid’s first shelf-stable offering, allowing wider audience accessibility to its exceptional functional beverages.

Bend, Oregon-based Humm Kombucha has announced the return of its seasonal Elderberry flavor. Each 12 oz. can has 40 calories and 8 grams of sugar. Humm Kombucha Elderberry is available via the brand’s website for $23 per 6-pack or $36 per 12-pack.

Luna Bay Booch has released its first non-alcoholic line, a family of tea-based mocktails dubbed Luna Bay 0%. Available in three flavors – Blueberry Mint Mojito, Mango Mule and Raspberry Rambler – the drinks are crafted with yerba mate tea and come in 12 oz. cans. Luna Bay’s 0% line is available for purchase on Amazon.

Kombucha 221 B.C. has expanded its portfolio with the addition of Mango + Dandelion.

The new offering features mellow botanical notes from dandelion and an exciting burst of cayenne that will transport you to the sundrenched beaches of Mexico. Kombucha 221 B.C.’s Mango + Dandelion is available for purchase on the brand’s website for $48 per case of 12, 16 oz. bottles.

KeVita has expanded its line of Sparkling Probiotic Lemonades with the launch of its new Mango variety. Like the other sparkling probiotic flavors – Classic and Peach – Mango is fermented with KeVita’s proprietary water kefir culture and has billions of live probiotics in each 15.2 oz bottle.

Better Booch has released a brand new seasonal for their fan-favorite Seasonal Artist Series, Pineapple Spice Tepache. This festive brew includes notes of pineapple and cinnamon, for tangy-spicy sips that satisfy, and has already become the #1 bestseller via their website, Betterbooch.com.

54 BEVNET MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023

56 BEVNET MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023

Brew Crew: How Coffee Culture Continues to Curate the Alt-Milk Category By: Adrianne DeLuca

In a world where, for many years, soy milk was the only alternative for lactose-avoiding latte lovers, the plethora of alt-milk options available today has created some category winners, a handful of new opportunities and two industries that will likely remain inextricably linked.

Almond and coconut milks may have helped warm consumers up to nondairy milks, but the strong taste of the former and the watery, hard-tofroth nature of the latter never made either an enticing use-case for an average consumer's cappuccino. When Oatly burst into the U.S. market via next-wave coffee shops in 2018, consumers were quick to embrace oat milk for ticking the boxes on taste, functionality and sustainability.

The variety has reigned, and remained, the alt-dairy category’s king within coffee culture. According to recent SPINS data, the refrigerated oat milk set continues to see strong growth, including a 10.5% volume increase to $598 million during the 52-weeks ending October 8, 2023. During that same period, traditional dairy saw volume growth of 0.3% to $14.6 billion.

“We had been providing soy milk, coconut milk, almond milk to coffee shops for many years prior but oat milk came on the scene in coffee shops first and that's where consumers really learned about it,” said Lauren McNamara, VP of Plant-Based Food and Beverage at SunOpta, one of the largest U.S. oat milk suppliers. “It pairs and performs so nicely with coffee that it gave a really favorable impression.. and it continues to be picked up by both big chain and independent coffee shops.”

Photo credit: Minor Figures

57

Oats Milk Wears the Crown While individual products and positions have evolved, oat milk’s place behind the coffee bar remains as prominent as ever. According to Cary Wong, director of coffee at Partners Coffee Roasters, a New York City-based cafe and roastery, nearly half of all beverage orders at its shops today include oat milk.

Jon Feldman, VP of sales at Minor Figures and a former sales and market development lead at Stumptown Coffee, explained that when alt-milks started gaining steam in the cafe channel in the late aughts, small coffee shop operators saw the offerings as a way to build incremental revenue via upcharges, typically anywhere between 20 cents to a dollar per drink.

But following the oat milk boom, those charges have become a point of contention – not to mention the center of quite a few PETA protests. Last year, Partners was one of many small cafe operators to eliminate extra charges for alt-milk. At the time, Starbucks also revoked the charge in all its U.K. stores but continues to charge 70 cents more per drink in the U.S. despite numerous consumer and industry group-led petitions.

In maybe the biggest confirmation of oat milk’s popularity within coffee, cafe operators including Blue Bottle Coffee and Stumptown roasters have flipped the script on the upcharge debate altogether and now use oat milk as the default “milk” in prepared hot beverages. That means consumers must request dairy if they don’t want oat milk. “[That was] the real bellwether to me,” Feldman said. “[These two] globally-recognized and celebrated coffee roasters by and large did bring us to this point, along with others. They looked at their sales and saw 60% of consumers asking for oat milk and [said] why don't we actually respond to them and also do something that aligns with our values: better for the planet and better-for-you.”

58 BEVNET MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023

That change has increased oat milk use in Blue Bottle’s U.S. cafe’s by 54% and become a key piece to reducing the chain’s greenhouse gas emissions and reaching its net-zero commitments. According to Starbucks, dairy remains its largest source of Scope 3 emissions, contributing 21% annually – which is equivalent to the emissions produced by the company’s packaging, waste, and food segments combined.

Dairy’s Decline Sparks Innovation

Dairy milk consumption has been declining for the past 70 years according to data from the USDA, with one exception – its use case has held strong in hot beverages.

Prior to the oat milk mania, Feldman said alt-dairy offerings were often just a box coffee shop operators felt they had to check to cater to those with gluten, dairy or nut allergies. But now, strong consumer demand and a plethora of options means baristas have higher standards and more specific needs for the products they use behind the bar, and brands are responding in turn.

Over the past year, companies ranging from clean label, low-ingredient almond milk maker Three Trees to AI-driven NotCo have introduced their own takes on barista blends. These products typically have higher fat contents, allowing the froth and foam to hold up better in hot beverages than standard oat milk varieties.

While Three Trees introduced its product initially just for at-home use in June, NotCo debuted its Barista blend with a launch at Joe Coffee locations across New York City in September.

For RISE Brewing, which originally expanded into the oat milk category due to a national shortage of the product in late 2018, it originally felt its standard oat milk did the trick. Considering its coffee origins, Melissa Kalimov, RISE’s COO, CMO and altchannel sales lead, said the brand felt confident in the product’s performance in coffee, but as time went on, and cafe operators became more comfortable with oat milks, they began to expect more from it.

“We heard loud and clear from our barista partners that they really wanted a barista focused product that was higher fat and played nicely with hot as well as cold coffee,” explained Kalimov. “We worked for a year to launch a brand new barista with this channel in mind while also still keeping its ingredient panel as clean as possible.”

But the relationship between coffee and plant-based milk doesn’t always move in one direction. Like RISE, Minor Figures began as a coffee-focused brand hawking canned oat milk lattes, but as the ingredient began gaining popularity, it shifted focus to selling alt-milks.

The brand now sells a three-SKU line of oat-based Barista milk in Regular, Lite and Organic formats and made with seven ingredients or less. For Minor Figures, creating a product that compliments coffee and works better than cow’s milk has remained its north star.

“If milk doesn't have to come from cows, does milk have to be white?” said Melissa Hauser, General Manager of Minor Figure’s North American business.

“That's the framework for how we started thinking about [alt-milk innovation]. We don't need to try to replicate what exists today. We need to be thinking way beyond it… to meet consumers where we think they're going to be [in the future] not where they are today.”

Capturing Coffee Shop Operators Small and independent cafe operators may not represent the average consumer, but their purchasing preferences are fairly close. In a channel where customers have limited choice, and often don't know what brand of milk they are being served, emerging players can win over cafe operators with similar attributes that help them in retail, although presented in a slightly different fashion.

RISE’s organic oat milks carry a dollar price premium in grocery, but in foodservice – which represents about one-third of its business – that price is even higher, Kalimov explained. In the retail context, RISE justifies its premium compared to other oat milks due to its clean label, organic and certified glyphosate free tenets.

While consumers have increasingly shown interest in clean label products across food and beverage broadly, according to RISE and Minor Figures, that attribute has also become a sticking point with baristas in small and regional cafe operators. Additionally, showing how the product performs, highlighting its sustainability attributes and demonstrating how the taste impacts the final product is important, but winning on price per pour remains essential.

“The cafe and office channels are both more people and margin-driven versus retailers are more data and trend-driven,” Kalimov explained. “What you present is slightly different: [its] getting them to root for my team, to taste and love the product and then showing them that the economics can work for them [and] why the product attributes are worth paying for it – that's how we win in this channel.”

For context, in retail, organic refrigerated plant-based milks have seen sales increase ​​nearly 30% over the past year, according to recent SPINS data; in organic oat milk specifically, sales have skyrocketed 345% while almond milk is close behind at 144% growth.

Wong also echoed these sentiments, stating that a product’s ingredients and relationship with the supplier are one of the most important attributes to Partners. In September, Partners subbed out Tache’s pistachio milk as its alt-milk offering for Minor Figures’ oat milk.

Beyond The Beans The broader opportunities for alt-milks within the coffee retail channel aren’t going to evaporate anytime soon, either. As cafe operators swap out slates of Skim, 1% and whole dairy milks for a counter covered with oat-based barista blends and novel nondairy products made from sesame, macadamia, pistachio and others, continued experimentation from specialty coffee shops can help convert even more coffee consumers.

RFG ALMOND MILK BRAND

RFG OAT MILK

DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs YEAR EARLIER

BRAND

DOLLAR SALES

CHANGE vs YEAR EARLIER

Blue Diamond

$615,310,677

9.6%

Planet Oat

$189,488,758

5.7%

Silk

$456,167,634

-15.7%

Oatly

$126,433,001

13.3%

Private Label

$305,272,868

9.7%

Chobani

$115,049,205

29.3%

Califia Farms

$105,798,242

3.9%

Silk

$49,143,186

-4.1%

Remedy Organics

$16,639,874

18.8%

Califia Farms

$43,108,156

5.4%

Malk

$10,493,484

244.7%

Private Label

$25,955,182

48.2%

Simply

$7,787,136

-77.1%

Malk

$3,895,253

294.7%

Mooala

$5,104,863

30.0%

Lifeway

$2,165,497

-6.1%

Three Trees

$2,280,229

63.9%

Natural Bliss

$1,095,451

-

Hiland

$2,049,858

-12.4%

So Delicious

$463,620

19621.7%

Pop & Bottle

$709,474

106.6%

Simply

$316,312

-90.1%

Ajoyo

$270,032

-38.2%

Mooala

$276,031

6.6%

Smiths

$108,586

-25.9%

Ripple

$261,510

-26.0%

Dakin

$99,298

28.1%

Good Karma

$132,701

3546.5%

Beber

$95,402

-14.3%

Forager Project

$127,918

52.9%

New Barn

$91,139

-2.7%

Natural By Nature

$11,264

384.1%

Ardmore Farms

$42,328

-95.1%

Jelley Brown

$8,853

-81.7%

Wild Harvest

$345

-

Oatnestly

$6,484

-58.9%

So Delicious

$33

-53.4%

Happy Planet

$4,972

-98.5%

Generous Provisions

$4

-100.0%

Quaker

$159

-

SOURCE: Circana OmniMarket™️ Shared BWS - 52 Weeks Ending 10-08-23

60 BEVNET MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023

According to Groundwork Coffee Co, specialty coffee consumption reached a five-year high, growing 43% in 2022, – a 20% increase compared to the year prior. The increase has been attributed to the positive social and environmental responsibility associated with the subcategory, and runs counter to the narrative surrounding the broader coffee industry.

Considering the lower-environmental impact of plant-based products, alt-milks are set to continue riding the specialty coffee segment’s upward momentum.

“Consumers are continually looking for more sustainable [and] more locally sourced options – they're looking to make those really easy switches in their life,” explained McNamara. “Switching out dairy for plant based milk is a totally painless change, especially in coffee – it's not something that you're making a taste or performance trade off for anymore.”

While oat milk gave rise to a new segment for consumer choice, it has also helped put the alt-milk category on a path for new and emerging opportunities. According to McNamara, seasonal and limited edition beverages still remain an effective means to get new consumers out of dairy, into alternative milks and expand their preferences beyond oat varieties.

But the performance of oat milk in coffee shops has also helped inspire further discovery and experimentation within plant-based milks. This fall, New York City-based startup Táche partnered with cafe Devocion to create an off-menu “secret” drink featuring its pistachio milk, while in May Elmhurst continued to expand its barista-focused sub-line with a Walnut Maple SKU at Sprouts Mar-

kets, Wegmans, and Fresh Thyme. Even for large brands like Vita Coco, a barista-focused coconut milk at retail may be a tough sell, but for a limited collaboration with Australian cafe chain Bluestone Lane, as the company has done this year, it can be effective.

According to McNamara, now that consumers are more comfortable with the category, Sunopta has seen cold and non-coffee beverages become increasingly effective for driving trial for a range of alternative milks, like a fruit-based refreshment beverage made with coconut milk.

But there are still challenges to growing a new brand in this space. Given how important relationships are to succeeding in this space, opening up new doors, compared to retail, is a bit tricker simply due to longstanding and well-entrenched relationships between longtime operators and their suppliers, according to Kalimov.

"We're growing exceptionally well – like in high double-digit year-over-year growth,” said Hauser. “But that is probably one of the limitations because we only have so many people, so we can only act on so many relationships a day.”

To forge growth in both channels, Minor Figures has created a holistic sales strategy where it will leverage marketing activities with grocery partners in markets where it also supplies multiple independent cafes.

“Because of that strategy, we're seeing a number of Whole Foods regions [open up], we're seeing an expansion with The Fresh Market and Natural Grocers – we are really gaining a lot of ground grocery as well so it's not an isolated channel strategy.”

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NEW BEVERAGE GUIDE • 2023

63

BRAND LISTINGS 3E Energy - Pomegranate Blueberry - "The Award-Winning Absinthe by Sunset Better For You Energy Elixir" Magazine's Best Woman Distiller 3E ENERGY, Inc.

Absinthia’s Bottled Spirits

Consciously caffeinated. No crash or jitters. No synthetic caffeine.

Nutritionally dense. 8 essential vitamins & minerals. Cognitive & immune support.

Delicious natural flavors. Perfectly balanced plant-based sweeteners. No Sucralose. Cheers!

3E Energy - Spicy Lemon Lime - "The Better For You Energy Elixir"

Experience craftsmanship at its peak. Immerse in Absinthe excellence with our acclaimed Verte, Double Gold & Best Liquor by Sunset Magazine. Introducing Absinthia Absinthe Bleue, a captivating infusion featuring Butterfly Pea Flower.

WBENC certified.

Discover AMAZ New Flavors. Healthier Energy Boost, Naturally Sweet

Ardor Energy Sparkling Water with Organic L-Theanine

MightyWell Foods Introduces the first ever Powdered Kombucha!

Ardor Organic, Inc.

Beloit Kombucha Co.

Ardor Energy is made with premium and organic active ingredients, caffeine from green tea and L-Theanine, to provide sustained energy and focus. It's crisp and light, and contains 0 sugar, 0 calories, and 0 artificial sweeteners.

Beloit Kombucha (BK&CO) allows you to get the Healthy Probiotics you're accustom to from your traditional kombucha's but much easier, healthier and tastier! With our simple stick pack, turn your water into amazing tasting kombucha in seconds!

NEW! Probiotic Sparkling Water with Real Fruit & Fresh Herbs

Unleash The Power Of Dark Matter!

3E ENERGY, Inc.

Amaz Project

Bear's Fruit

BlackNerd Coffee

Consciously caffeinated. NO crash No jitters. NO synthetic caffeine.

Nutritionally dense. 8 essential vitamins & minerals. Cognitive & immune support.

Delicious natural flavors. Spicy metabolic boost.

Perfectly balanced plant-based sweeteners. Cheers

Elevate your senses with our latest flavorful creation now with 160mg of organic caffeine and naturally sweetened with real juice. A Premium blend, carefully curated with rare, powerful ingredients known for their supercharged properties.

Bubbles, but Better: A true sparkling water with 100% real fruit & gut health benefits. No added sugar, no sweeteners, no flavors, no weird stuff. Just simple ingredients & billions of live probiotics for a happy gut. Proudly women owned.

BlackNerd Coffee was created by a husband-wife nerd duo who were obsessed with making the perfect cup. Dark Matter is a RTD, dark roasted, Colombian coffee that is shelf-stable for 10 months, perfected by the nerds, no cream or sugar needed.

IRN BRU The UK’s No 1 Other Flavoured Soda! With 32 Secret Ingredients AG Barr Soft Drinks PLC

64 BEVNET MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023

same orchard, new twist! savor tradition with hemp infused beverages ayrloom

BRAND LISTINGS For All Of Your Adventures & With You ‘Til The (Slightly) Bitter End Bitter Bubble

Brew Dr. Strawberry Fields & Pineapple Paradise Kombucha Brew Dr. Kombucha

Your day begins at night with Blue Bear Sleep Tea

BUBBL’R Antioxidant Sparkling Water - New Flav’r!

BUBBL’R

MASH Sparkling Fruit Drink

BLUE BEAR

Boylan Bottling Co.

The first ready-todrink melatonin nighttime tea is here. Made with natural and organic ingredients, Blue Bear Sleep supports rest and relaxation with a zero-sugar, lightly sweetened, peachflavored white tea.

Get ready for a new nightly routine.

Popularized in NYC delis, MASH strikes the perfect balance between soda, seltzer, and juice to create a one-of-a-kind experience. MASH combines 2 fruit flavors with the light effervescence of sparkling water, resulting in a bold yet refreshing taste.

Award Winning Taste in the Most Sustainable Package

Brella Cocktail Drops: Zero Sugar / Zero Calorie Cocktail Mixers

Boxed Water

Brella

Made from 92% renewable materials (trees), Boxed Water™ has a plantbased cap and is the most sustainable brand in the water aisle. Our pure water has won multiple prestigious taste awards. Consumers ask for it by name.

Brella is aiming to create the concentrated cocktail mixer category. No other brand has been widely distributed in liquor accounts or gained significant market presence despite clear consumer demand.

Brella has 2 flagship flavors: Tiki and Margarita.

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BRAND LISTINGS The First Low-Sugar, Low-Calorie Boba Tea

BuzzBallz Premium Ready-to-Drink Cocktails

BUBLUV Inc.

BuzzBallz/Southern Champion

No added sugar, 50 calories or less, nothing artificial.

Includes low-carb jelly pearls. Available in 3 flavors: Black Milk Tea, Matcha Soy Latte, Passionfruit Oolong Guava. Premium glass bottle, shelf stable. Woman and minority owned.

Uptown Cocktails Wine Based Ready-toDrink Cocktails

With a 15% ABV and over a dozen flavors, BuzzBallz are women-owned, kosher certified and made with real juices and creams. Available in spirits, wine, and malt-based formats, these single-serve cocktails are perfectly portable and ready to go.

Cann: Microdosed social tonics

BuzzBallz/Southern Champion With a 13.9% ABV and 8 delicious flavors, women-owned Uptown Cocktails are gluten-free, kosher certified, and made with real juices and creams. Available in three sizes (1.5L, 750mL, and 355mL), Uptown Cocktails are a premium winebased drink.

Skip the hangover. Lose the guilt. Enjoy the buzz.

Cheech and Chong’s Global

Vodka Based Hard Tea with No Added Sugar

Corpse Reviver - Botanical Hydration Libation

Cape Tide Hard Tea

Corpse Reviver

Cape Tide Hard Tea is crafted with vodka, premium brewed tea, and real fruit juice. Featuring all natural ingredients, no added sugar, and zero carbonation, Cape Tide is made for summer sipping.

Currently offered in Lemon, Peach, and Raspberry.

Corpse Reviver is a hydration libation crafted with real ingredients that allows you to sip your way back to life.

Our nutritionistformulated electrolyte blend contains vital nutrients needed for recovery and every day life. It's revival time.

Coco5: 5 Electrolytes - 7 Ingredients 100% Delicious Hydration

100% All-Natural, Gut-Healthy, Prebiotic Energy Drink

Cann

Coco5

DECIBEL

Cann’s social tonics are microdosed to provide a light buzz without the hangover.

Less than 35 calories, crafted with allnatural ingredients, and award winning flavors. Enjoy the social tonic that has sold over 10 million Canns!

Coco5 fuels those living life to the fullest. Containing 5 essential electrolytes the body needs to conquer the day. Developed by professional athletes, enjoyed by all pursuing the path to greatness. This is Real Hydration.

Welcome to the team.

Powered by 5g of prebiotic fiber and an all-natural, gut-healthy blend of other functional ingredients, DECIBEL isn't just for fleeting bursts of energy—it serves as a catalyst for your core vitality, impacting the body and mind in the long run.

TEXAS TEA SLIMS- Low Calorie, Low Sugar, Real Fruit, Real Brewed Tea D.B. Miller, Inc.

Texas Teas latest innovation –TEXAS TEA SLIMS Everything you’d expect in a sweetened tea with an innovative twist: <1g Sugar and <5 Calories per bottle! Now you can quench your thirst while pursuing an even healthier lifestyle.

Real brewed tea! Made in Texas, by Texans, with real locally sourced Texas fruits. Non GMO verified.

Texas Slims come in 3 Flavors: Fredericksburg Peach Tea, Poteet Strawberry Tea, Brownsboro Blueberry Tea For more information reach out to us at www.DBMBev.com 66 BEVNET MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023

BRAND LISTINGS Care Bubbles: Blend of Science and Taste for Regeneration & Beauty

New Electrolit Zero Blue Raspberry

From Booth to Bottle: Erva Launches Line of RTD Cold Brewed Yerba Mate

The Cleaner, Smarter Fusion Energy Beverage that Fuels you to Succeed

DIVAS drink U.S. Inc.

Electrolit USA

Erva Brew Co.

Exponent Energy

Scientifically formulated clean label drink with clinically proven vegan collagen (19 amino acids), 74 sea minerals, CoQ10 and 6 essential vitamins offers a complex regeneration solution and paves way to sustainable vitality & beauty at every age.

Electrolit Zero is scientifically formulated with a balanced mix of electrolytes designed to deliver optimal hydration. With Zero Sugar and Zero Calories, it's perfect for after a hard workout, a long day in the sun, or a night out with friends.

The only cold brewed yerba mate, a favorite at festivals & events since 2014, now in a bottle! Erva’s line includes: Passion Play, featuring passionfruit puree & tulsi, GoGo Gingerfresh ginger & lime, & Move Mint- a cooling & unsweetened mint mate.

Beyond any conventional energy drink, Exponent is a scientifically balanced confluence of healthy plant-based compounds from proven functional product categories.

A fusion that boosts productivity, aids recovery, improves mood & powers ambition.

SUPER FUEL Sticks On-The-Go Natural Energy + Vitamin Mix

New Equator RTD Cold Brew: Organic, Fair Trade & 1% for The Planet

EBOOST SUPER FUEL Sticks is a sparkling natural energy drink mix crafted with plant-based caffeine and fortified with vitamins, minerals, nootropics, electrolytes, and antioxidants. Low sugar, low calorie, and no artificial flavors, colors or sweeteners.

Emmi Equator RTD Coffee Equator’s new premium cold brew is crafted from nearly 30 years of specialty coffee expertise.

Certified Organic and Fair Trade, we mix coffee, dairy and simple ingredients into familiar flavors giving RTD coffee drinkers a café experience on the go.

New Equator RTD Cold Brew: Organic, Fair Trade & 1% for The Planet Emmi Equator RTD Coffee

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Nature's Perfect Water

THC Infused RTD Botanical Cocktails

Eternal Water

Fable Libations

Eternal is the No. 3 selling alkaline water in the U.S. and the 2nd fastest-growing top 10 premium water brand in dollars & units. Sourced from pure, protected springs right here in America. Naturally filtered and full of essential electrolytes.

Introducing the world’s first zeroalcohol cocktail that still gets you “Tipsy.”

Made with natural ingredients, Fable replicates the bite, burn, and flavor of an RTD alcoholic cocktail. Containing 5mg hemp-derived THC + 3mg CBD per can.

Making Everyday Products Healthier Starting With Coffee Everyday Dose

BRAND LISTINGS Fever-Tree Classic Margarita

Fever-Tree Light Margarita

Fever-Tree

Fever-Tree

Crafted with the finest Mexican limes, agave and a touch of Spanish sea salt.

Expertly blended, creating the perfect balance of sweet & tart. Simply mix with your favorite tequila or mezcal for a deliciously, refreshing Margarita.

Crafted with the same perfect blend of ingredients as our Classic Margarita Mix, with 58% less sugar & calories. Mix with tequila for a deliciously bright & refreshing Margarita.

Fever-Tree Classic Bloody Mary

Water That Loves You Back Flow Water

New Clubtails Crushers - Cocktails You Can Crush!

Fever-Tree Crafted with the finest Californian tomatoes & a unique blend of spices for a complex, yet balanced flavor.

Simply mix with vodka for a deliciously bold & spicy Bloody Mary.

Making Everyday Products Healthier Starting With Coffee Everyday Dose

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Geloso Beverage Group Clubtails Crushers, at 5% ABV is the Clubtails Cocktail you can Crush! The same beloved Clubtails cocktail flavors, Sunny Margarita, Bahama Mama, Pink Lemonade, and Screwdriver, at a lighter 5% ABV.

Non-Alcoholic Liquor Flavored Coffee Latte Golden Nest

BRAND LISTINGS Goldthread Plant-Based Tonic Shots Goldthread Tonics LLC

Ghia's Non-Alcoholic Apéritif

Green Soda: Cola & Four Delicious Flavor Varieties Green Cola North America LLC

GOOD IDEA Your Metabolism's Best Friend

Classic Iced Tea Flavor, Gut Healthy Benefits.

Tropical Real Fruit Juice Sodas - Sparkling Passion Orange Guava

Ghia

GOOD IDEA

Halfday Iced Tea

Hawaiian Soda Co

Clear-eyed and highminded, Ghia is a non-alcoholic apéritif brand inspired by the Mediterranean. Our pure ingredients, a biting combination of botanical extracts, are powerful enough to bring out the best version of you without numbing the night.

First functional beverage clinically proven to prime metabolism, and balance blood sugar levels. Balanced blood sugar helps to improve overall wellbeing; mental focus, weight management and to reduce cravings and anxiety. Available in five flavors.

We're making a new kind of drink. Iced teas infused with taste buds approved flavor and gut healthy prebiotics. Halfday has the nostalgic iced tea flavor you grew up with, but with way less junk.

Savor the Taste of Aloha. Enjoy paradise in every sip: Real Fruit Juice Sodas, free from added sugar, artificial junk, or preservatives.

Discover our flavors from Hawaii: Sparkling Lilikoi Lychee, Mango Sunset, Pineapple Citrus, and Grapefruit Blush.

Lava Filtered, Naturally Alkaline, Premium Artesian Water from Hawai‘i

House of Love Cocktails and Mocktails

GNGR Labs' Vitamin C Sparkling Prebiotic Drink

Sugar Free Certified Vegan Clean Energy Drinks

GNGR Labs, Inc.

Gym Molly

Introducing our Vitamin C prebiotic drink, a zesty blend of orange, turmeric, ginger, acerola cherry, apple cider vinegar, and 5g prebiotic fiber per can. It's a delicious and natural way to boost immunity, aid digestion, and enhance muscle recovery.

Orange County Creamery is Gym Molly’s latest sensation! With two 16oz flavors, and three 12oz sleeks, Gym Molly Energy is the most comprehensive drink in the market. Try our latest flavors today and see what the social media buzz is all about!

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Hawaii Volcanic Beverages Sustainably sourced and lava filtered, Hawai‘i Volcanic Water™ is naturally alkaline and loaded with life enhancing minerals, electrolytes, and Mana. This artesian water is smooth, soft, and slightly sweet tasting; precious and premium on all levels.

House of Love The global phenomenon, Ru Paul’s Drag Race, has extended its message of inclusivity, self-expression, & individuality with HOUSEOFLOVE. Offering an array of high ABV, 100 calorie, non-alcoholic options.

For those who proudly march to their own beat

BRAND LISTINGS HOP WTR Ruby Red Grapefruit HOP WTR

Great Tea with a Great Cause HUMANITEA Co.

HOP WTR’s most-requested new flavor is here. HOP WTR Ruby Red Grapefruit delivers a zesty, tart grapefruit flavor with a strong hit of hops, all with no calories, carbs or sugar. Grapefruit is one of the largest and fastest-growing flavors in the sparkling water category and has seen proven innovation within beer as well. Launched direct-to-consumer in the summer of 2023, HOP WTR Ruby Red Grapefruit quickly became a fan favorite and ranked as the #1 best-selling single flavor SKU on hopwtr.com. The brand is leaning in with this new offering and now rolling it out to retailers nationwide! Reach out to your HOP WTR sales contact to learn more and try some for yourself. Cheers!

Hoplark 0.0. Launches Hop Sour - The perfect daytime brew.

Hoplark, LLC

Icelandic Glacial Water Now Available in Aluminum Cans!

Icelandic Glacial Water

73

BRAND LISTINGS Illicit Elixirs - Supports Dopamine Production

Just Ice Tea Cans - New Dragon Green Tea

Illicit Elixirs

Just Ice Tea (Eat the Change)

Indulge in multiple mouth pleasure with real fruit, fizzy bubbles and functional ingredients like vitamins, amino acids and antioxidants formulated to support Dopamine production.

The world needs more happy so we created Illicit Elixirs.

Jove Alkaline Water, Deep Hydration for Skin & Cellular Health

From the makers of Honest Tea, Just Ice Tea is now in cans!

NEW Dragon Green Tea is a refreshing combination of green tea from Mozambique infused with passionfruit and sweetened with a hint of agave at just 40 calories per can.

Organic & Fair Trade.

Karma Introduces New Natural Energy Line Powered by Cognizin®

Winner - Coconut Water Brand of the Year

A Melting Forest of Functional Adaptogenic Beverages

Koko & Karma

Melting Forest Inc

Koko & Karma is the only coconut water plus vitamin range world-wide. With sales increasing 560% this year our functional flavors, competitive price point and great margins are proving hard to pass up by buyers and customers alike. Women Owned.

Escape the chaos to the 'Melting Forest' where beta-glucan, found in adaptogens and nootropic mushrooms, brings ancient healing. Choose to feel energized and uplifted, or calm and relaxed, while joining us on this healthier path to wellness!

Thunder Coffeemilk Is The Best Tasting Coffee On The Planet

Botanical drinks infused with adaptogens & nootropics - 0 added sugar

Jove Wellness

Karma Water

Land O’ Sun LLC

Moment

Experience Deep Hydration with Jove. A better alkaline water starts with a better alkaline process. Our proprietary process features an exclusive liquid silica, creating a great tasting water clinically shown to promote skin & cellular health.

Introducing Karma Energy Water: A natural energy drink crafted with 150mg caffeine, Cognizin® nootropic, adaptogens, and essential vitamins.

Elevate well-being without artificial additives. The genuine, refreshing boost your body and mind deserve.

Thunder Coffeemilk Aussie-style Coffee is here to Bring The Thunder to your day with flavor, 9g of protein, and 50% less added sugar than other coffees. Thunder is made with only 5 simple ingredients and is US Farmer Founded and Farmer Owned.

Moment supports mental wellness through drinks made with fruits, adaptogens, nootropics & mushrooms. With 0 added sugar, no caffeine, & low carb/ calories, it is perfect for a morning boost, afternoon reset or the evening unwind without the hangover.

New! Jenji Boba Tea Jenji (by SPI West Port)

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MatchaKo Premium & Organic RTD Matcha Beverages MatchaKo

BRAND LISTINGS A Taste of the Lighthearted Life Miche Mix

New from the first carbon-neutral food company in the U.S. Neutral Neutral organic milk is pasture-raised and carbon-neutral.

Neutral is on a mission to reduce the carbon footprint of agriculture by partnering with small farmers across the country to implement carbon reduction projects. Available in whole and 2%.

New Barn Organics Introduces the First ROC™ Certified Almond Creamer!

All New Mitra9 Deliciously Crafted Kava & Kratom Beverages Mitra9 Brands

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Introducing Acme Beer North Coast Brewing Company From the brewers of Scrimshaw comes a new take on the original version of Acme Beer. Crisp and refreshing, Acme Beer is made from the four essential ingredients: water, malt, hops and yeast…and that’s all.

2023 TapNY Gold Medal Winner & Winner of Best Brewery in Hudson Valley

New Barn Organics

Old Klaverack Brewery

Announcing Regenerative Organic Certified® Barista almond milk made with ROC™ almonds and ROC™ sugar. This unique formulation uses sea minerals sustainably harvested in Iceland.

Clean label, incredibly smooth, and unlike anything else on the market.

Old Klaverack Brewery opened in 2015 as a Farm Brewery in upstate New York. We opened our second location in November of 2021 with a larger production facility.

In 2023 we won Gold Medal for our Hazy IPA & won Best Brewery in the Hudson Valley

LOCK’DIN Unleash Your Potential Next Gen Beverages LLC.

BRAND LISTINGS Delicious, Zero Calorie Beverages Nixie Sparkling Water, Inc.

Taiwan Classic Bubble Tea Trend!

Pocas International Corp.

PATH’s Sparkling Trio: Lemon-Lime, Grapefruit-Mango, Raspberry-Orange PATH

Caramel Super Concentrate Pop & Bottle

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BRAND LISTINGS Plant Press's "Clean Caffeine" is Redefining Soda, but better Energy Drinks

America’s #1 Spirit Alternative Ritual Zero Proof

Plant Press

poppi

Plant Press is the healthiest and most delicious alternative to coffee and energy drinks. It provides energy with hydration through the unison of caffeine, vitamins and electrolytes. 1 can equals 1 cup of coffee and is free from anything artificial.

poppi is breaking all the soda rules and putting the fun in functional with its gut healthy prebiotic soda that's 25 calories and 5 grams of sugar... or less. Yep, it's the flavor you've known and loved, but better.

PLAYR1 Functional Beverages

PURA VIDA: Great Energy, Great Vibes, a Taste that's a Natural Delight

PLAYR1

PURA VIDA

Crafted for kids and adults, our beverages are noncarbonated, made from Pharmaceuticalgrade neutarucitcals, contain nothing artificial, available without caffeine, and NSF & GMP certified.

Boosted focus, hydration, and great taste in every sip.

This 100% plantbased energy drink combines the calming energy of yerba mate with natural adaptogens and nootropics offering a feel-good, stress-free energy boost. Enhanced with natural fruit flavors, each sip is a refreshing and uplifting experience

No Sugar, Gut-Healthy Drinks that are Fizzing Delicious Remedy Drinks

Rambler Sparkling Water Introduces New Blackberry Flavor Rambler Sparkling Water

Sacred Bev Native Wellness

The first berry flavor to enter the Rambler Sparkling Water family, Rambler Blackberry is a careful balance of both sweet and tart. Combined with our Limestone Mineral Blend and perfect level of carbonation, it's the juiciest Rambler flavor yet!

Infused with a unique blend of herbs that have been used by Native Americans for centuries, Sacred Bev's sparkling beverages are based on authentic Native American remedies created to achieve Wellness, Immunity and Tranquility from the inside out.

Classic Cocktails made with Organic Spirits and Ingredients

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Native American Sparkling Herbal Functional Beverage

First-Ever Craft Cocktail Mix in a Tea Bag — Non-Alcoholic, Low Sugar

Robin Road Cocktails

SAYSO

We are here for cocktail enthusiasts, busy professionals, the health-conscious and people who value convenience. Each cocktail is made with organic ingredients to provide an upgraded craft option and a real cocktail experience without sacrifice.

Create a delicious, all-natural cocktail in minutes: infuse your SAYSO sachet in cold water & spirits (omit for a mocktail) and enjoy! SAYSO is better for you (low sugar & calorie) and better for the environment.

Available in 5 flavors.

Women-owned.

BRAND LISTINGS Good Mood Soda - made with 200mg Ashwagandha Rowdy Mermaid

Seven Teas Georgia Peach RTD Iced Tea "70-Calorie Classics" 16oz Can

Best Seller - Blueberry Basil Lemonade

Seven Organic Teas & Lemonades

Simple Time Mixers

"Take a Road Trip in Every Sip" and savor soft, succulent streams of fresh peach juice in this slightly sweet, real brewed Organic, Non-GMO, Fair-Trade Certified tea with only 70 calories in sustainable shelf stable Cans. Supports 1% For the Planet.

ShineWater. All Natural. Vibrant Flavor.

Zero sugar. Vitamin D. ShineWater

100% Plant Powered Natural Energy Feel the Force of Nature® SLAM! Super Fuel

Sunshine In A Bottle !

100% of the daily recommended value of Vitamin D in every bottle. ShineWater is naturally sweetened with ZERO added sugar. Our formulas are full of key electrolytes including Potassium, Magnesium, and Zinc.

No artificial color ®

Saint James Iced Tea launches New Flavors with Zero Sugar Saint James Iced Tea

Our fresh organic wild blueberries are pureed and cold-pressed to give you a perfectly balanced cocktail.

All of our clean label cocktail mixers start from whole fruit juiced right here in Columbus, OH in our small batch kitchen.

Zero Artificial - Zero Sugar - Zero B.S. 100% Natural Energy for Stamina and Endurance, Natural Sweeteners with Great Taste and Zero Sugar; Natural Electrolytes for Ultra-hydration and Recovery; Natural Nootropics for Enhanced Focus and Concentration

The “Better for You” Canned Cocktail Spirited Hive

Certified Organic iced tea brand Saint James is adding to their lineup of low sugar, environmentally friendly packaged and flavor packed beverages with new zero sugar, zero calorie black tea flavors: Red Raspberry and Classic Lemon.

- Certified Organic, non-GMO, no artificial colors, flavors or sweeteners -16.9fl oz per unit - Shelf Stable - Low sugar green tea: Original Green Tea, Passion Fruit & Peach Tea, Pineapple & Mango Tea - Zero sugar black tea: Blood Orange & Hibiscus, Red Raspberry, Classic Lemon 81

BRAND LISTINGS Sparkling mixers with natural botanicals & crisp Rocky Mountain Water Strongwater

Perfect Hydration Alkaline + Electrolyte Water, Brand Refresh Q1 2024!

Stratus Group

Troov

Perfect Hydration Alkaline Water is on a mission to offer active people & athletes better hydration with premium & refreshing alkaline water in sustainable packaging - unveiling a line rebrand & new 16 oz resealable aluminum bottle Q1 2024!

A light and refreshing non-carbonated performance tea made with 100% plantbased ingredients designed to help you synergistically find your flow. Dosed to perfection – Troov helps you perform better, recover faster, and discover your total potential.

Feel Inspired, Not Wired with Taika's Coffee & Matcha with Adaptogens

Lemon Perfect Hydrating Lemon Water The Lemon Perfect Company

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Plant-Based Performance Tea with Clinical Dosing

100% Wise Mouth Natural Vegetable Tea

Taika

Wise Mouth

Fuel your everyday creativity with our unique blend of single origin coffees, organic ceremonial grade matcha and functional mushrooms that deliver focused energy and reduced stress. Plant-based, zero sugar, and outrageously delicious - Meet Taika.

100% natural Wise Mouth Vegetable Teas, combined with fresh vegetables and herbs, bring thousands of years of wisdom from Eastern traditional medication to your daily life.

Introducing The New 5.0 Formula - Your Liver’s All-Natural Sidekick The Plug Drink, Inc.

BRAND LISTINGS Cognitive Energy Drink® Trumpdrive Energy ®

Natural Spring Water and Ultra Premium Natural Mineral Water from the Ice Age Vellamo Water

Your Uptime is Now Uptime Energy

Velvet Llama Premium Cocktails In A Can! Velvet Llama

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BRAND LISTINGS The First Functional Biologic, Contains Anti-Inflammatory Cobra Venom Venomco

New! Drink Weird x Grateful Dead Weird Beverages

Wai Koko Coconut Water Wai Koko Beverage Company

5mg now available! 0 calories. 0 sugar.

WYNK Seltzer

XL Energy Drink Corp

A perfectly balanced 1:1 ratio of THC:CBD means a light and bubbly buzz that’s enjoyable any day of the week. Each 12oz sleek can contains 0 calories, 0 sugar, and 0 alcohol. The taste is light and refreshing, similar to flavored sparkling water.

Life’s too short to count calories - Choose exotic fruitiness! XL Sugarfree Mango containing taurine, caffeine and vitamins - absolutely no added sugars!

**New!** Tangerine WYNK 6-pack WYNK Seltzer Introducing a new flavor of WYNK hempderived seltzer, with equal parts THC and CBD. 2.5mg and 5mg offerings available.

6-pack cartons make this buzzy nonalcoholic offering a great choice for a social gathering, or for sipping on weeknights.

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XL Energy's new sugarfree flavor

BRAND LISTINGS Vapor Distilled Water in Bottles That Help Prevent Ocean Pollution ZenWTR Alkaline Water

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Tea, Coffee & Specialty items A. Holliday & Company Inc.

SUPPLIER & SERVICES LISTINGS Extend Your Product’s Shelf-Life with aTULC Can Packaging Great tasting natural ingredie Almendra Americas, LLC American Canning

For over 48 years, we've traveled the world to connect people with the finest products. At A. Holliday & Company, we source, test, and ship every product we carry. We supply bulk tea varieties (extracts & leaf), coffees (extracts), antioxidants, herbal & superfruit extracts, natural caffeine, polyphenols, EGCG, Rooibos, coconut water powder, and our newest product, oil soluble tea polyphenols.

Your partner for innovation, reliability and quality.

Almendra has been delivering consistently superior natural clean label ingredients to reduce sugar and improve taste of high potency sweeteners for more than 10 years. Proprietary Taste Technology A portfolio of patented and licensed taste modulation solutions. Global Service Stevia expert sales and support in the Americas, Europe and Asia

Flavor Supplier Abelei Flavors

Next-Gen Digital Printed Cans AluminateCans.com

abelei creates delicious application-specific flavors assisting our clients in getting to market faster with flavorings that fit their product requirements. abelei specializes in creating great-tasting sweet brown, citrus fruit, soft fruit and other top-note flavors perfect for the beverage, food, dairy, confectionery, health & nutrition, and pet industries.

Aluminate cans are the digital printed cans the industry’s been waiting for. Metallic, matte, gloss, and textured finishes are all possible on the same can. Aluminate's durability is unmatched, holding up to tunnel pasteurization and high-speed production. Industry-leading pricing, lightning quick turn-around times, and no minimum order quantities, ensure your brand’s success with Aluminate cans.

Spirit-Driven Packaging Design ACB*

Functional US Milks + Proteins Axiom Foods

There may be competing products, but branding is the story you tell the world—and nobody else has your story. At ACB, creative is grounded in the strategic thinking that builds brands for growth. We collaborate closely with you to uncover the ownable insights unique to your business, then tell that story at every touch point through craft and killer design.

Innovating FDA GRAS non-GMO plant-based ingredients since 2005, our nutrient-dense rice & oat dairy alts are certified whole grain & allergen-friendly. Also US-made, our soluble patented rice protein is clinically tested vs whey(4x). Looking for extruded pea or fava protein? Choose sizes from Denmark & Asia.

Scientific & Regulatory AIBMR Life Sciences, Inc.

Quality Testing for You! AZ Laboratories

AIBMR is an industry-leading scientific and regulatory consulting firm, founded in 1978.

AIBMR offers key services specifically tailored to the natural products marketplace, including GRAS Independent Conclusions, FDA GRAS & NDI Notifications, toxicology studies, cosmetic testing, exposure estimates, label reviews, claims substantiation, FDA & FTC compliance, & manuscript preparation & publication

We have served our clients over the past decade testing a wide variety of products! Ranging from beverages, supplements, to raw materials, we have the grounds covered with our science.

Our team is confident in operating and testing through our approved analytical methods to provide you the honest, and reliable results you can count on. Feel free to contact us today, we would love to hear from you!

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In 2022, American Canning, an Austin-based can packaging company, introduced aluminum Toyo Ultimate Can (aTULC) packaging to the United States for the first time in a brand-new, compactconcept can manufacturing line designed specifically for craft.

Developed by Toyo Seikan Group Holdings in Tokyo, Japan, aTULC is an award-winning and trusted technology that promotes an innovative alternative to traditionally manufactured aluminum cans. Rather than applying internal coatings by spray application post production, aTULC cans are made from BPA-free, pre-coated aluminum sheet. This creates a more consistent and robust barrier between the raw aluminum and the can contents, which is particularly beneficial for storing higher-acidity products. Pre-coating also eliminates the need for water and/or any lubricating and washing chemicals within the manufacturing plant. Added benefits of the aTULC liner include minimal flavor absorption and drastically increased shelfstability for hard-to-hold products.

To discover the complete benefits of aTULC and learn more about how this packaging solution not only protects your brand, but the environment as well, contact American Canning. Low minimum order quantities, quick lead times, and volume and bundling discounts available. Brite cans, shrink-sleeve and printed decorations options, all from Austin, TX, USA. The Most Trusted POS in Food & Bev Arryved POS

SUPPLIER & SERVICES LISTINGS Contract Manufacturer Azpack

Top Quality Beverage Logistics Bettaway Beverage Distributors

Fully automated canning for high-acid beverages with variety pack capabilities, state-of-the-art 350,000 sf facility, 2 million can daily capacity, tunnel pasteurized or cold fill preserved carbonated, still or alcoholic beverages, organic, kosher, halal and sqf level 3 certified. *AZPACK is a refresco beverage company.

Bettaway provides high-value beverage warehousing, fulfillment and transport service.

We're centrally located in the hub of distribution for the Northeast. We are equipped for any beverage fulfillment need – from single case or item pick & ship, to large scale labeling, kitting and repack projects. Our capabilities include automated state-of-the-art Registered Shrink Film and Cartoner services.

Connecting Nutrition & Health BENEO Inc.

Your Beverage Resource BevSource

From energy drinks to protein and meal replacement beverages, low glycemic Palatinose™ (isomaltulose) opens the door to nutritionally optimised beverages. Its slow release of glucose…the main fuel for body and brain…supports blood sugar management while keeping you supplied with sustained energy, whether for exercising, training/competitions, or simply for those long, demanding days.

BevSource is the beverage industry’s resource for ingredients, packaging, and product development. We propel our clients' success by leveraging our industry network and deep beverage expertise to translate their ideas to reality and to scale. By offering turnkey solutions, we service beverage businesses, small and large, giving them the freedom to focus on what they do best: building their brand.

Custom Beverage Co-Packer In Los Angeles BevPack LA

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The 1 to Choose for Botanical Extracts Bio-Botanica, Inc.

Real People. True Flavor.

Callisons

Better-For-You Sodas Dohler North America

Since 1903, Callisons has created authentic flavors using the highest quality, natural extracts directly from nature. Known as the leader in mint, Callisons develops a diverse portfolio of flavors with a passion for the Beverage, Confection, Oral Care, and Bakery industries. As tastes change and the market expands, we evolve and innovate to remain on the forefront of the next flavor revolution.

Dohler is your partner for creating next generation soft drinks with exceptional taste profiles, a clean label & better-for-you positioning. From classic to innovative flavors, no/low sugar & calorie options, using all natural ingredients like flavors, colors from natural sources, botanical extracts, taste modifiers & prebiotic ingredients to support digestive health. We bring ideas to life.

Brand Identity and Packaging Cornerstone Strategic Branding

Natural Beverage Development Drink Me Taste Solutions

Our focus Is connecting your brands package and message with your consumer. We develop the visual communication, strategy and look and feel for your retail package. We are a full service agency, and can take the project from an idea to final print. With 30+ years of experience, we know a thing or two on how to win at retail. Make your brand a winner!

Specializing in the natural and non-alcoholic functional beverage space, Drink Me Taste Solutions understands the taste and ingredient challenges in creating a great tasting beverage that your consumers will crave. We know what it takes to succeed and can work with you from concept to commercialization. Contact us today for a free 30 minute consultation session.

SUPPLIER & SERVICES LISTINGS Game-changing, Branded Ingredients Bioenergy Life Science (BLS)

We’re re-imagining the possibilities for functional beverages. Great things can happen when you sharpen your competitive edge with Bioenergy Ribose and RiaGev because our patented ingredients do more, and they do it better.

We use proprietary core technology and more than 30 years of experience to develop a variety of specialty ingredients and product solutions for healthier living. We help people of all ages feel, perform and look better from the inside out.

We’ve got you covered with innovative ingredients and technology to give you an edge in such high-demand categories as energy, sport performance, metabolism, healthy aging, digestive health, women’s health, cosmetics and personal care, and more.

In addition, we offer value-added services such as product concepts; formulation; market-ready and custom premix services to meet the growing demand for raw material processing prior to manufacturing beverages, food, nutrition bars and dietary supplements (with high- and lowcapacity batch sizes); wax-matrix sustained release tableting; private/white label solutions; bulk packaging; small-pack options for start-ups (5K-plus); quality and regulatory; and marketing.

Cream-based Alcoholic Beverages Creamy Creation

At Creamy Creation we develop and produce a wide range of cream-based and emulsified beverages for customers around the world; from traditional cream liqueurs and egg nog options to vegan, oats, and low/no alcohol drinks, which can be packaged in a bottle or a can.

From ingredient solutions to tailor-made formulations, concept development & product launch support, we work with our customers to bring their ideas to life. To ensure a smooth launch, we offer support every step of the way by providing market and regulatory knowledge, quality assurance and technical sales support.

Our story started in 1979, in the Netherlands and expanded from there. Flash forward to today, we have production facilities in both Rijkevoort, the Netherlands and Batavia, New York and a sales team that covers every corner of the globe.

BLS is your Total Solution Provider. We partner with you to develop or refine your formulations and line extensions with our game-changing, branded ingredients. Let’s take your business to the next level.

Cans Supplied Nationwide CanSouce, a TricorBraun Company

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We don’t believe in compromise – but we do know how to hit the sweet spot. dsm-firmenich

SUPPLIER & SERVICES LISTINGS Clean Label Ingredients Farbest Brands

Beverage Flavor Experts Flavorcan International Inc.

Our Ingredients. Your Sourcing Simplified. We can help you meet the demand for clean-label ingredients with a full range of high-quality dairy and plant proteins, gum acacia, vitamins, sweeteners, natural colors, as well as USDAcertified organic, and NON-GMO Project Verified ingredients No matter your budget, application, or label claim we can guide you to the ingredients that are right for you.

Elevate your beverages taste with Flavorcan. 35+ years of flavor innovation expertise, a diverse flavor portfolio, and customized solutions that will make your brand stand out. Let's embark on a journey of flavor innovation together, and create beverages that will not only quench thirst but also excite taste buds and capture hearts. Contact us today to explore the endless possibilities.

Beverages with Benefits FFP

Custom Beverage Development Flavorman

Custom Flavor Solutions Foodarom

Welcome to FOODAROM. We are flavor designers. We are flavor tastemakers and trendsetters.

Now a proud member of the global Glanbia family, we are experienced flavorists that create and manufacture the memorable flavors that will have your customers coming back for more.

Partnering with food, beverage and nutritional product industries, we deliver turn-key flavors and formulation support. But not just any flavors, we create made-to-order solutions and profiles designed to perfectly meet the flavor expectations of your audience and beyond. In short, unforgettable taste sensations that will put your brand on the tip of everyone’s tongue.

FFP’s clean label beverage ingredient portfolio provides various functional benefits, all while providing great, refreshing taste. Our functional benefits include immunity support, energy, stress relief, improved cognitive function, and more. From Formula to Final Sip™, we have the ingredients, technology, and expertise to bring a healthy, unique approach to your functional beverages.

Have a great idea for a beverage? Flavorman can help you bring it to life. Own your custom formula and benefit from value-added services and resources designed for your success—everything from R&D and shelf life testing, to regulatory assistance, pre-production planning, and more.

With over 30 years in the business, Flavorman is the best partner to help you change what the world is drinking.

The Firebelly Social Show Firebelly Marketing

Beverage Flavor Solutions FlavorSum

Integrity, Innovation, Insight Foster Garvey PC

Prickly Pear Cactus Ingredient GAIA fruits

We feature leaders of mission-driven food and beverage brands. Listen to origin stories - and insights about current industry trends, connecting with your audience, building a community, making the world a better place, and, of course, #founderlife.

FlavorSum helps your brand grow with the flavor solution expertise and infrastructure required to keep pace with the changing needs of beverage buyers. We make flavor sourcing more efficient, effective, and enjoyable with best-in-class responsiveness, competitive lead times and thousands of flavors in water and oil soluble formats. Let’s create the delicious beverages your customers crave.

As trusted legal advisors to the food & beverage and CPG industries, Foster Garvey provides strategic, full-service counsel to early-stage ventures, established businesses and investors, aimed at minimizing risk and maximizing business potential. From corporate to intellectual property to regulatory matters, our attorneys ensure that our clients are positioned for success. Learn more on our site.

Prickly Pear strengthens the Immune System. It is been attributed with healing properties since it is rich in Bioflavonoids that have strong antioxidant properties and give this fruit its distinctive bright red-violet color, and help the body detoxify and reduce inflammation. GAIA fruits is your trusted supplier of prickly pear puree and concentrate as a functional ingredient with an exotic flavor

Custom Flavor Development Flavor Dynamics, Inc.

Flavors are our Forté Forté Flavors, LLC

Coconut Ingredients Franklin Baker, Inc.

EXBERRY® Plant-Based Colors GNT USA, LLC

We are the perfect choice for your beverage flavors. Our experienced team is guided by a commitment to creating innovative, superior quality products. Our "AA" BRC audit grade represents our commitment to food safety and quality assurance. Ask us for your clean label requirements, including Organic, Non GMO, Natural, Gluten free and Vegan. Our team is up to the challenge. Call us today.

Join forces with Forté to craft a delicious tasting beverage that perfectly aligns with your vision! With our flavor expertise and passion for exceptional taste, our accomplished flavor experts are eager to collaborate with you and your unique concept to develop an exceptional beverage. Let's partner and turn your beverage dream into reality!

Franklin Baker, Inc. is the largest processor of coconut ingredients in the Philippines as the premier supplier to the global beverage & food market. Franklin Baker offers an extensive portfolio of coconut products including Coconut Water, Coconut Milk/Cream, Coconut Concentrate, Creamed Coconut. Our extensive third-party certifications are unrivaled to the highest product standards.

EXBERRY® by GNT is the leading brand of natural colors for the food and beverage industry. Our colors are non-GMO and derived solely from fruits, vegetables, and edible plants through a process of chopping, pressing, filtering and blending. Our team of technical specialists are available to guide customers through each stage of the formulation and upscaling process.

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SUPPLIER & SERVICES LISTINGS Coffeeberry® Coffee Fruit Juice Concentrate FutureCeuticals

Better Testing Starts With Hanna Hanna Instruments

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Gusmer Brewing Solutions Gusmer Enterprises

Ingredient Supplier IFPC

Since 1924, Gusmer has taken a revolutionary approach to serving the brewer’s vision. It’s why Gusmer offers a full line of solutions for the brewing industry including fermentation and processing aids, filtration media and equipment, analytical products and instrumentation, processing equipment, and analytical laboratory services. Contact your local Gusmer Technical Sales Representative today!

Over the last two generations, our family-owned company has grown from a sugar supplier to a one-stop ingredient shop. We have 14 distribution centers across the country and manufacture custom ingredient systems at our SQF-certified facility, Aviator. From functional ingredients to custom sweetener systems, we have what you need to create a successful beverage.

Nutritional Water Formulations Hidell International

Flat to Fab in 90 Seconds Imagine

Hidell International is a fifty-five year old global consultancy. The company is one of the leading bottled water/beverage consulting groups in the world. The company has a number of health and wellness product patents for bottled water products. The company has on staff microbiologists, chemists, hydrogeologists, financial and market analysts to provide a wide range of professional services.

Need a quick display solution to capture some impulse buys? Check out SturdyStand™, the heavy-duty floor stand from Imagine--built to last and designed to maximize your budget. This display packs the muscle you need with easybreezy installation (we’re talking 90 seconds— flat!) Learn more at Imagine.

Clean Label Beverages Have Never Been So Simple!

Icon Foods

SUPPLIER & SERVICES LISTINGS Mobile Canning Solutions Iron Heart Canning Co

Flavor & Taste Solutions McCormick FONA

IHC is your solution to guide you through the canning process! With over 250 MILLION cans filled to date, IHC offers unmatched Experience and Expertise. We service the Eastern US and deliver Quality you can count on – Guaranteed seams, All beverage types, All can sizes, Materials sourcing, & Co-Packaging Partners – whatever your situation we can get your product canned. IHC is your one stop shop!

Consumers today want it all—you’re balancing the demands of great taste, supply chain challenges, regulatory hurdles and consumer acceptance. The experts at McCormick FONA can help. From ideation to launch, we can create a seamless, winning path for you. Design, develop and scale up using our Beverage Innovation Studio in Geneva, IL or Irvine. We’ll bring the best taste solutions to the table.

Your Next Innovative Beverage Starts Here Kerry

Tropical-ize Your Beverage Line with Natural Fruit Ingredients iTi Tropicals

Practical Expertise Consulting KleinPack

Delivering Data-Based Insights Market Dynamics Research Group

Trust the monk.™ Monk Fruit Corp.

Consumers are making decisions at every moment of every day. Understanding their choices is essential to driving sales. At MDRG, we provide data with crucial emotional and cultural context to reveal the truth behind consumer decisions.

With our unique WHOLE MIND™ methodology, we uncover insights to help you better understand your customers and your marketplace. Contact us to learn more!

Monk fruit is an ingredient that allows you to create great tasting, innovative products with significantly less sugar and calories - all from the goodness of fruit. Monk Fruit Corp., the recognized global industry leader, offers the best quality and widest range of monk fruit products on the market. Looking for monk fruit - Trust the monk.™

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SUPPLIER & SERVICES LISTINGS Clean & Natural Protection Lanxess Corporation

Looking to safeguard the quality and shelf-life of your beverage and eliminate chilled chain distribution needs? LANXESS Corporation offers two unique and innovative technologies, Velcorin® and Nagardo®, which provide microbiological protection in a wide variety of beverages.

Velcorin® (Dimethyl Dicarbonate) is a cold sterilization agent that kills microorganisms during production, resulting in cleaner and more stable beverages.

Benefits of Velcorin® include: • No impact on sensory profile • Clean label solution • Compatibility with all types of common packaging • Cost-effective • Application-specific advice and services from Velcorin® team Nagardo® (Dacryopinax Spathularia) is a natural guardian that protects against beverage spoilage to secure and prolong shelf life.

Benefits of Nagardo® include: • Achieve natural & consumer friendly claims • Efficient control of a broad range of spoilage organisms • No impact on sensory profile • Broad application in a variety of beverages • Easy integration into production process • Application-specific advice and services from Nagardo® team LANXESS Corporation hopes to conveniently meet all of your microbiological protection needs with our widely applicable technologies and services.

For more information on Velcorin®, please visit velcorin.com.

For more information on Nagardo®, please visit nagardo.com.

MATCHA.COM Organic Bulk Japanese Matcha - Best Price, Quality, Service MATCHA.COM

Why use MATCHA.COM for your Bulk or Private Label Matcha Needs?

• Largest Organic Matcha Production Facility in Japan • Best Price to Quality Ratio on the Market • U.S. Warehousing for Fast Lead Times and Guaranteed Availability • U.S. Market Expertise + U.S. Based Operations and Support • No order too big or small - We regularly fulfill 10,000KG+ POs • Full Private-Label, Co-packing and Blending Capabilities • Vertically Integrated Farms and Production Facilities • All QA paperwork ready to go. Surpass strictest QA requirements • Refrigerated shipping and warehousing = Longest Shelf Life & Freshest Matcha Our services are approved by all major manufacturers, distributors, certifying bodies, and retail outlets. We are a vertically-integrated Japanese provider of both USDA Organic matcha, and conventional matcha. We leverage our capacity and custom quoting process to hit ANY price and quality your project requires. No order too large or too small or too big. From 1.1lb (500g) bags all the way to FCL (Full Container Loads). As the authoritative U.S. experts in all things matcha we offer advice and education to help you understand matcha in the context of your application as well as the history, production practices, health benefits, and anything else you want to know to help you create the most popular SKU and market it effectively to your customers. *Contact bulk@matcha.com 100 BEVNET MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023

104 Year History of Beverage Processing Technology Mojonnier USA, LLC

At Mojonnier, we pride ourselves on being responsive to our customers’ needs and goals through personal and direct customer service. We will be your single source supplier for all of your needs to minimize your downtime and increase revenue. Mojonnier team members have decades of experience in the beverage processing industry.

Our equipment offerings include: Mix Processors Meter-based mix processors designed to produce carbonated beverages metering syrup, deaerated water and CO2. The mix product is cooled by a plate heat exchanger with glycol.

Finished mix product can also bypass the blender portion of the mix processor and be chilled and carbonated. Instruments, automatic valves and controls.

Syrup Rooms Complete customizable syrup room solutions to meet product and ingredient mixing needs.

Flash Pasteurizers Flash pasteurizer units are designed to eliminate microorganisms and enzymes to preserve product characteristics.

Tunnel Pasteurizers The tunnel units are designed to ensure suitable thermal treatment to products of various sizes and package types.

Deaeration Systems for Beverage GTS deaeration system with nitrogen option. GasTran Systems designs and manufactures complete systems to deliver deaerated water for up to three different bottling lines simultaneously.

Custom Liquid & Powder Flavors Mosaic Flavors

Contract Manufacturer NOR-CAL BEVERAGE CO

Discover a range of flavors as intricately designed as the natural world. At Mosaic Flavors, we’re dedicated to providing the best flavors in the industry elevated by artistry and delivered through science. Our devoted customer care and nimble supply chain means quick turnarounds for sample requests, short lead times, and low MOQs. We work in concert with you to bring your product's flavor to life.

Nor-Cal Beverage Company, Inc. is a full-service Contract Manufacturer with two production facilities in Northern and Southern California.

Both locations offer a range of production capabilities and certifications. We also offer finished goods and distribution service centers positioned to supply West Coast fulfillment needs. Family owned and operated since 1937 also Women's Owned Business.

Flavor Manufacturer Mother Murphy's Flavors

Filling and Closing Solutions Pneumatic Scale Angelus

Mother Murphy's is a full-service flavor manufacturer dedicated to supporting customer needs through quality and flavor innovation.

At Mother Murphy's we specialize in flavor and prototype development for the beverage industry and have over 60,000 flavors in our portfolio.

With our expertise your ideas become the exceptional flavors that connect with consumers and create brand loyalty.

Since 1895, Pneumatic Scale Angelus has designed and manufactured packaging equipment for filling, seaming, capping, and labeling applications. Our solutions set the standard for bottling and canning machines, scaled for the needs of a wide range of Beverage, Craft Beverage, Dairy and Food applications, and are fully supported by a global Service and Aftermarket network.

SUPPLIER & SERVICES LISTINGS Branded Trade Marketing, Field Marketing, Sale Merchandise & Supplies Nugogo Branding Solutions

Sustainable Packaging Handles PakTech

Trade Marketing: Custom Display Racks, Shippers, Dealer Loaders, Printed POS, Push Glides, Suction Cup Racks, IRCs, and Coupons.

Field Marketing: Tents, Table Covers, Banners, Demo Kiosks, Cooler Barrels and tens of thousands of items for giveaways.

Sales: Custom Sales Kits, Sell Sheets, Client Gifts, Apparel Nugogo has everything that Trade Marketing, Field Marketing and Sales Pros like you need to create product awareness, customer engagement and most of all Case Sales!

We work with over 50 national brands and provide a one stop experience for everything you need!

We’d love to help you too! Give us a call or send an email. We’ll provide you with a capabilities deck to help you see how many ways we can help your brand succeed!

Choose Glass for Your Beverage Packaging O-I Glass

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Perfectly Smooth Flax for Beverages Pizzey Ingredients

SUPPLIER & SERVICES LISTINGS Shrink Wrap & Corrugated Packaging Machines Polypack

Partnership Makes all the Difference Sensient Flavors & Extracts

Sensient Flavors and Extracts offers value-added flavors, systems and extracts that bring life to products. We inspire our customers to deliver products that offer multi-sensory experiences that are “just picked from nature.” Thanks to our wide-ranging product library, development teams and cutting-edge facilities, we’re able to implement thoughtful solutions for complex challenges.

With industry-leading expertise in the savory, beverage and sweet markets, we provide comprehensive solutions that meet our customers’ flavor, color, and functionality requirements.

At Sensient Flavors & Extracts, we use our advanced proprietary development technologies to create fresh, unique flavor systems. Additionally, we have a complete line of masking & flavor enhancing technologies. Particularly in beverage, we have a TrueBoost portfolio that enhances mouthfeel & creaminess, and a natural extract portfolio from named sources.

We are experts in the science, art and innovation of taste. We are market-savvy influencers, grounded in facts and driven by the needs & occasion of our consumers. We are problem solvers,and you are what makes us a collaborator, and a true partner. Together, we can solve the most challenging product puzzles and together, we can make products that are delicious, craveable and truly inspired.

Beverage & Food Development PTM Food

Packaging Solutions Supplier Saxco

PTM Food is your premier product development & manufacturing support firm. Our wide range of expertise, development, and creativity achieves an exciting point of difference between your product and competitors. We work hard to uncover key industry insights, developing products that have a competitive edge. Whether your project is simple or a complex one, we’re your team!

Saxco is a full-service packaging solutions supplier. We have served the distiller, wine, and craft beverage community for more than 90 years, combining our expertise, passion, and commitment to your success with modern packaging technologies. Contact us today to receive a free consultation from a dedicated packaging expert.

We Build Emerging Brands SAS SALES AND MARKETING

Insurance for Beverages Specialty Food Beverage-PCI

CEO/Founder Andy Stallone provides executive level management and sales expertise to emerging brands. "Kickstart Florida" is a true DSD service for SAS managed brands, kickstarting a Florida launch, and accelerating the transition to a broadline or DSD distributor network. As brands succeed and gain chain authorizations, our 15-person Merch Team optimizes store presence in every major FL retailer

We work with specialty beverage manufacturers and importers covering a wide variety of beverage types to include, alcoholic, non-alcoholic, functional, energy drinks and supplements.

Policy types include General Liability, Product Liability, Excess Liability, Property, Product Recall and Ocean Cargo. Very familiar with wholesale and retail insurance requirements for many major vendors.

Simplify Field Sales With An All-in-One Super Sales App! SimplyDepo

103

SUPPLIER & SERVICES LISTINGS Packaging Line Automation Ska Fabricating

Ska Fabricating designs and builds reliable, automated packaging line equipment that is handcrafted to make beverage manufacturers’ lives easier. Whether your line runs at 30 units per minute or 1,000+, our depalletizers, conveyance systems, vessel rinsers and dryers, date coders and more will boost your production, cut down on excess expenses, and improve your bottom line.

Manufactured in the USA.

The Leaders in New Beverage Development Sovereign Flavors Inc.

104 BEVNET MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023

Blending and Process Experts Statco-DSI Process Systems

Fruit & Vegetable Ingredients Stiebs

Statco-DSI is a full-service equipment and integration service provider to the food and beverage industry, with specialties in dry powder mixing, continuous inline blending, as well as de-aeration and carbonation. Operating from 11 offices coast-to-coast, we are able to assist with all of your beverage processing requirements.

Stiebs, since 2005, has been devoted to sourcing, processing & delivering the world's finest plant-based products. We offer a full line of fruit & vegetable based ingredients as Single Strength Juice, Juice Concentrates, Purees and IQF Cubes. From the beginning stages of product development to delivering an on-going supply of premium natural products, our team is here to help you succeed.

Upcycled Organic Ingredients State Garden/Olivia's Organics

POS/POP Merchandising TAP PRODUCTIONS

From the same brand you trust for your salad needs comes a line of beverages featuring upcycled veggies. Pressed in New England, they're sustainably made. Rather than send excess greens from salad production to the landfill, we press kale, spinach and celery. In addition to our line of bottled juice for retail, we offer bulk organic or conventional in 5-gallon pales and 55-gallon drums.

Need a quote or ready to launch a new brand or product line? We have you covered! With over 20 years of purchasing experience, we have produced a variety of custom decorated goods in print, premiums, wearables and displays for some of the best national brands, startup companies and everyone in between. We are a valued partner, that successfully delivers on-time and on budget materials. Call us.

Vitamins, Sweeteners and Acidulants - Your Beverage Additive Supplier Suzhou-Chem Inc.

SUPPLIER & SERVICES LISTINGS From idea to the consumers’ hand, we bring your beverage to life.

Tetra Pak

Beverage Premix Solutions TWG Health & Nutrition

Shrink Sleeve Labeling, Beverage Repack, and Craft Cans Tripack

Sales Planning & Trade Management UpClear

106 BEVNET MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023

SUPPLIER & SERVICES LISTINGS Enhance & Fortify Vitacyclix, Div of MORRE-TEC

MORRE-TEC Industries Inc., founded in 1987, has established a leading position as a global supplier of specialty vitamins and mineral supplements for the nutrition, beverage and personal care industries. With the acquisition of the Vitacyclix business in 2016, the company gained a unique technology for the production of water-soluble formulations for fat soluble vitamins, which is especially useful for the fortification of dairy products, functional beverages as well as other food and nutritional applications.

The Formulation Experts Trisolutions

Turnkey Beverage Services US Beverage Manufacturing

Trisolutions is the top choice for all your beverage development needs. Your project will benefit from our extensive expertise in all beverage categories.

In our applications laboratory, our team of food scientists will develop your initial concept into a commercial reality including full scale production support. Reach out to us to find out how we can provide the solution you are looking for.

We can turnkey develop and copack/manufacture all types of beverages, alcoholic and nonalcoholic, liquid and powder, in aluminum cans, PET bottles, glass bottles, and flexible packaging.

If you are looking for a one stop shop that can develop, formulate, and manufacture your new beverage concept, then look no further! We can help supply all ingredients, materials, and manufacturing services.

Drain and compress filled cans in one easy step with a WEIMA E.200!

WEIMA America, Inc.

A complete selection of vitamins, minerals, bioflavonoids and proteins as well both vegan and kosher options are available. We welcome the opportunity to develop custom formulations of blends for your specific needs.

For any questions or inquiries please visit our website, www.morretec.com; call 908-688-9009 or email sales@morretec.com

Branding & Package Design Watermark Design

WEIMA packaging presses, can presses, recycling presses and beverage drainers reduce the waste volume and the disposal costs for liquids.

The E.200 drainage press from WEIMA offers an efficient way to drain partially or fully-filled cans in one easy step, increasing quality control and decreasing waste.

Drainage press technology allows for rejected cans to be directly ejected into the machine’s hopper, which punctures them so the contents can be drained into its collection bin. The machine can also be hand-fed if necessary, and all rejected cans are easily compressed into Ø200mm discs for convenient recycling.

The compressed discs of aluminum take up significantly less space than partially filled cans, maximizing valuable floor space between trips to the recycler and increasing the value of the aluminum due to its compressed form.

For breweries and other packaging/canning operations, WEIMA’s drainage press technology allows more time to focus on what matters most: sustainably creating a delicious, quality product.

On-shelf or online, your branding & package design is your only chance to make a first impression. That makes this your most important investment. Watermark has deep experience, designing for the beverage industry since 2007, proven expertise through successful client brands and products, national awards and recognition, and insane talent who can not wait to develop the next best product on the market.

107

COMPANY CONTACT INFORMATION COMPANY

CONTACT NAME

CITY

STATE

PHONE NUMBER

WEB SITE

SLAM! Super Fuel

Joe L

Los Angeles

CA

(800) 712-2800

drinkSLAM.com

3E ENERGY, Inc.

Tim Bell

Houston

TX

(855) 588-3336

3Eenergy.com

A. Holliday & Company Inc.

Christine Renken

Toronto

-

(416) 225-2217

teacoff.com

Abelei Flavors

Mike Allegretti

North Aurora

IL

(630) 859-1410

abelei.com

Absinthia’s Bottled Spirits

Absinthia Vermut

Berkeley

CA

(510) 435-7051

absinthia.com

ACB*

Andrew Bly

Port Washington

NY

(646) 284-1969

heyacb.com

AG Barr Soft Drinks PLC

Rhys Roberts

Glasgow

-

(447) 442-4934

agbarr.co.uk

AIBMR Life Sciences, Inc.

Jared Brodin

Seattle

WA

(253) 286-2888

aibmr.com

Almendra Americas, LLC

Eric Zabin

Decatur

GA

(404) 395-0219

almendra.com

-

-

-

-

AluminateCans.com

AluminateCans.com

Amaz Project

Gustavo Nader

Santa Monica

CA

(310) 310-0672

liveamaz.com

American Canning

Tammy Duhaime

Austin

TX

(512) 931-1226

americancanning.com

Ardor Organic, Inc.

Allison Wilson

Napa

CA

(503) 332-0456

ardororganic.com

Arryved POS

Rachel Kesley

Boulder

CO

(720) 441-4863

arryved.com

Axiom Foods

Kay Abadee

Westlake Village

CA

(818) 266-2461

axiomfoods.com

ayrloom™

-

LaFayette

NY

-

ayrloom.com

AZ Laboratories Azpack

Xin Wang

Tempe

AZ

(480) 329-8779

azlaboratories.com

-

Tempe

AZ

(480) 449-7770

azpack.com

Bear's Fruit

Amy Driscoll

Brooklyn

NY

(929) 283-5345

www.bearsfruit.com

Beloit Kombucha Company

Josh Sizemore

Las Vegas

NV

(859) 382-5015

beloitkombucha.com

BENEO Inc.

Kyle Krause

Parsippany

NJ

(003) 216-8013

beneo.com

Bettaway Beverage Distributors

John Vaccaro

South Plainfield

NJ

(908) 222-2526

bettaway.com

BevPack LA

Ray Fuentes

Los Angeles

CA

(310) 400-7038

bevpackla.com

BevSource

-

Saint Paul

MN

(651) 797-0132

bevsource.com

Bio-Botanica, Inc.

Scott Florentino

Hauppauge

NY

(631) 840-3195

bio-botanica.com

Bioenergy Life Science (BLS)

Penny Portner

Ham Lake

MN

(763) 746-3926

bioenergylifescience.com

Bitter Bubble

George Martin

Burlington

VT

(802) 598-7259

bitterbubble.com

BlackNerd Coffee

Annie Carter

Vienna

VA

(904) 699-8173

blacknerdcoffee.com

BLUE BEAR

Alex Vialy

Encino

CA

(818) 208-2622

bluebear.com

Boxed Water

Kavita Shah

-

-

-

boxedwater.com

Boylan Bottling Co.

Cassidy Meyer

New York

NY

-

mashdrink.com

Brella

Jimmy Semrick

Chicago

-

(205) 777-7947

brelladrops.com

Brew Dr. Kombucha

Rob Nollenberger

Portland

OR

-

BUBBL’R

Zach Lastrilla

Madison

WI

(608) 846-1286

BUBLUV Inc.

brewdrkombucha.com drinkbubblr.com

Diana Ark Chen

Long Island City

NY

(917) 942-8759

bubluv.com

BuzzBallz/Southern Champion

Tia Wines

Carrollton

TX

(972) 242-3777

uptowncocktails.com

Callisons

Kim Carson

Cincinnati

OH

-

Cann

callisons.com

Sabine van der Linden

Los Angeles

CA

(718) 708-1087

drinkcann.com

CanSource

Robert Renfro

Longmont

CO

(870) 329-4990

cansource.com

Cape Tide Hard Tea

Ben Carbeau

Wareham

MA

(978) 505-4702

drinkcapetide.com

Cheech and Chong’s Global

Cinda Thieling

Salt Lake City

UT

(801) 660-5303

cheechandchong.com

Clarendon Flavors, LLC

Brad Compton

-

-

(502) 548-6393

clarendonflavors.com

Coco5

Scott Sandler

Phoenix

AZ

(312)243-1115

coco5.com

Jill Tapia

New York

NY

(212) 686-6023

cornerstonebranding.com

Corpse Reviver

Anna Zesbaugh

Denver

CO

(303) 570-0025

drinkcorpsereviver.com

Cornerstone Strategic Branding Creamy Creation

Selina McJury

Rochelle Park

NJ

(585) 820-0430

creamycreation.com

D.B. Miller, Inc.

Todd Albert

Katy

TX

(830) 433-0419

dbmbev.com

DECIBEL

Frank Nicholas

Miami

FL

(847) 922-2625

drinkdecibel.com

DIVAS Drink U.S. Inc.

Lucia Tarnoczy

Los Angeles

CA

(954) 666-8896

carelabdivas.com

Dohler North America

Kristy Ellenson

Cartersville

GA

(470) 334-9858

doehler.com

Drink Me Taste Solutions

Rachel Dannemeyer

Reno

NV

(949) 677-5369

drinkmetastesolutions.com

108 BEVNET MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023

COMPANY dsm-firmenich EBOOST

CONTACT NAME

CITY

STATE

PHONE NUMBER

-

Anaheim

CA

-

Thomas Ortis

New York

NY

(312) 823-3452

WEB SITE flavors.firmenich.com eboost.com

Electrolit USA

Elkin Vasco

Houston

TX

(713) 835-7545

electrolit.com

Emmi Equator RTD Coffee

Ryan Sowards

San Rafael

CA

(415) 485-2213

drinkequator.com

Erva Brew Co.

Juan Rivera

Los Angeles

CA

(310) 425-4032

drinkerva.com

Eternal Water

-

Walnut Creek

CA

(925) 378-7388

eternalwater.com

Everyday Dose

Jack Savage

Austin

TX

(708) 567-5225

everydaydose.com

Exponent Energy

Mike Pullam

London

-

(519) 671-8700

drinkexponent.com

Fable Libations

Benjamin Kennedy

Denver

CO

(646) 469-8179

drinkfable.com

Farbest Brands

Tracey Jordan

Park Ridge

NJ

(201) 573-4900

farbest.com

Fever-Tree

Amanda Stein

New York

-

(917) 601-4873

fever-tree.com

FFP

Nina Hughes

-

-

(224) 301-0790

floridafood.com

Firebelly Marketing

Duncan Alney

Indianapolis

IN

(317) 557-4460

firebellymarketing.com

Flavor Dynamics, Inc.

Colleen Roberts

South Plainfield

NJ

(908) 822-8855

FlavorDynamics.com

Flavorcan International Inc.

Mario Moreno

Toronto

-

(416) 321-2124

flavorcan.ca

Flavorman

Spencer McGuire

Louisville

KY

(502) 289-5549

flavorman.com

FlavorSum

Rachel Zawistowski

Kalamazoo

MI

(800) 525-2431

flavorsum.com

Flow Water

Krystal Pena

Aurora

-

-

flowhydration.com

Foodarom

Vanessa Chartrand

Salt Lake City

UT

(801) 975-2604

foodarom.com

Forté Flavors, LLC

Janet Guzman

Valencia

CA

(661) 309-1163

forteflavors.com

Foster Garvey PC

Hillary Hughes

New York

NY

(212) 965-4527

foster.com

Franklin Baker, Inc.

John Slade

Memphis

TN

(901) 881-6681

franklinbaker.com

FutureCeuticals

Ryan Wories

Momence

IL

(888) 452-6853

futureceuticals.com

GAIA fruits

Roberto Garfias

San Luis Potosí

-

+524441595829___

Paul Rene

Rochester

NY

(585) 247-2310

drinkclubtailscrushers.com

Carlos Maldonado

Los Angeles

CA

(562) 708-1003

drinkghia.com

Geloso Beverage Group Ghia

gaiafruits.com

GNGR Labs, Inc.

Namik Soltan

Brooklyn

NY

(347) 294-9193

gngrlabs.com

GNT USA, LLC

Jeannette O'Brien

Dallas

NC

(704) 469-5555

exberry.com

Golden Nest

Imelda Veharanta

Rancho Cucamonga

CA

(626) 574-1719

goldennestcoffee.com

Cameron Hill

White Plains

NY

-

GOOD IDEA

Goldthread Tonics LLC

Stephanie Duncan

-

CA

(855) 346-6348

Green Cola North America LLC

Manos Eleftheriou

Hoboken

NJ

(201) 597-9300

greencola.com

-

Mountainside

NJ

(866) 213-1131

GusmerBeer.com

Greg Booth

Miami

FL

(323) 538-2195

gymmolly.com

Gusmer Enterprises Gym Molly

drinkgoldthread.com goodidea.us

Halfday Iced Tea

Brian Coleman

Laurel Springs

NJ

(267) 241-6785

drinkhalfday.com

Hanna Instruments

Kristen Jackson

Smithfield

RI

(401) 765-7500

hannainst.com

Hawaii Volcanic Beverages

Jason Donovan

Princeville

HI

(808) 639-9394

hawaiivolcanic.com

Hawaiian Soda Co

Gina Ho

Honolulu

HI

(808) 594-2104

hawaiiansodaco.com

Hidell International

Henry Hidell

Hingham

MA

(617) 823-9023

hidellinternational.com

HOP WTR

Lauren Davidson

Los Angeles

CA

-

hopwtr.com

Hoplark, LLC

Toni German

Boulder

CO

(720) 224-6779

hoplark.com

House of Love

Richard Fein

Los Angeles

CA

(516) 455-1638

houseoflovecocktails.com

Joe Garza

Riverside

CA

(951) 966-9432

drinkhumanitea.com

Icelandic Glacial Water

HUMANITEA Co.

Patrick Ferguson

Culver City

CA

(843) 290-9674

icelandicglacial.com

Icon Foods

Angela Squire

Portland

OR

(503) 310-6004

iconfoods.com

IFPC

Mathew Brady

Fenton

MO

(314) 422-2324

ifpc.com

Illicit Elixirs

John Valiton

Excelsior

MN

(612) 839-3626

illicitelixirs.com

Imagine

-

Minneapolis

-

(800) 942-7088

go.theimaginegroup.com

Iron Heart Canning Co iTi Tropicals Jenji (by SPI West Port)

Roger Kissling

-

-

(908) 619-5449

ironheartcanning.com

-

Lawrenceville

NJ

(609) 987-0550

ititropicals.com

Brian Choi

South San Francisco

CA

(650) 616-7777

drinkjenji.com 109

COMPANY CONTACT INFORMATION COMPANY

CONTACT NAME

CITY

STATE

PHONE NUMBER

Jove Wellness

Steve Crouppen

Boca Raton

FL

-

Just Ice Tea

Bethesda

MD

-

eatthechange.com

Kelley Bridenbaugh

Pittsford

NY

(585) 218-0022

drinkkarma.com

Just Ice Tea (Eat the Change) Karma Water

WEB SITE drinkjove.com

Kerry

Amanda Wolff

Beloit

WI

(608) 201-5107

kerry.com

KleinPack

Steve Klein

Liberty Hill

TX

(425) 941-9366

kleinpack.com

Koko & Karma

Jodie Evins

Sydney

TX

(614) 104-9114

kokoandkarma.com

Land O’ Sun LLC

Dave Temple

Live Oak

FL

(512) 468-7420

thundercoffeemilk.com

Lanxess Corporation

Michael Turpin

Pittsburgh

PA

(817) 357-5851

velcorin.com

Market Dynamics Research Group

Kristy Roldan

New Orleans

LA

(504) 821-1910

mdrginc.com

MATCHA.COM

Team Matcha

Tucson

AZ

(520) 273-2110

matcha.com

MatchaKo

Mark Missirlian

New York

NY

-

matchako.com

McCormick FONA

John Fishel

Geneva

IL

(630) 578-8638

fona.com

Melting Forest Inc

Sean McDonald

Corona

CA

(951) 407-0376

meltingforest.com

Miche Mix

Michelle Schmidt

Laredo

TX

(406) 426-8368

michemix.com

Mitra9 Brands

Karli Vasquez

Fort Myers

FL

(239) 222-9129

mitra-9.com

Mojonnier USA, LLC

Bob Green

Streetsboro

OH

(216) 225-7906

mojonnier.com

Moment

Aisha Chottani

New York

NY

(713) 504-2231

drinkmoment.com

Monk Fruit Corp.

Paul Paslaski

Libertyville

IL

(847) 367-6665

monkfruitcorp.com

Mosaic Flavors

Crista Righi

Chino

CA

(714) 283-5287

mosaicflavors.com

Mother Murphy's Flavors

Michael Oden

Greensboro

NC

(336) 273-1737

Neutral

Chris Haines

Portland

OR

-

Hannah Youngblood

Fullerton

CA

(833) 863-3663

newbarnorganics.com Lockdin.com

New Barn Organics

mothermurphys.com eatneutral.com

Next Gen Beverages LLC.

Sales

Cave Creek

AZ

(844) 562-5346

Nixie Sparkling Water, Inc.

Sarah Alexander

Larkspur

CA

-

drinknixie.com

NOR-CAL BEVERAGE CO

Pete Grego

West Sacramento

CA

(916) 372-0600

ncbev.com

North Coast Brewing Company

Debra De Graw

Fort Bragg

CA

(707) 813-0008

northcoastbrewing.com

Nugogo Branding Solutions

Todd Gatzow

Pasadena

CA

(626) 379-1700

nugogo.com

O-I Glass Old Klaverack Brewery PakTech

-

Perrysburg

OH

-

Erik Bell

Hudson

NY

(518) 965-1437

oldklaverackbrewery.com

o-i.com

-

-

OR

(541) 461-5000

PakTech-opi.com

PATH

Harry Meng

Fremont

CA

-

Pizzey Ingredients

Mary Ekman

Russell

-

(651) 797-3168

pizzeyingredients.com

drinkpath.com

Plant Press

Ariana Farahani

New York

NY

-

drinkplantpress.com

PLAYR1

AJ Foppe

St. Louis

MO

(314) 681-0880

www.playr1.com

Pneumatic Scale Angelus

Gigi Lorence

Stow

OH

(800) 992-0491

psangelus.com

Pocas International Corp.

Allen Chuang

South Hackensack

NJ

(954) 646-7817

pocas.com

Polypack

Chris Harris

Pinellas Park

FL

(727) 578-5000

polypack.com

Pop & Bottle

Amelia Winslow

Covina

CA

(310) 484-6140

popandbottle.com

poppi

Sophia Sesto

-

-

-

drinkpoppi.com

PTM Food

Don Rodgers

Wall Township

NJ

(888) 736-6339

ptmfood.com

PURA VIDA

Joe L

Venice Beach

CA

(310) 708-4310

drinkPuraVida.com

Rambler Sparkling Water

Dave Mead

Austin

TX

(512) 657-2726

ramblersparklingwater.com

Remedy Drinks

Anne West

Hermosa Beach

CA

(310) 408-5061

remedydrinks.com

Ritual Zero Proof

Abigail Moskalik

Chicago

IL

-

ritualzeroproof.com

Robin Road Cocktails

Theresa Robbins

New Philadelphia

OH

(330) 606-0631

robinroadcocktails.com

Rowdy Mermaid

Arielle Madilian

Boulder

CO

(303) 396-0498

rowdymermaid.com

Sacred Bev Native Wellness

Justin Quis Quis

Encinitas

CA

(760) 473-4534

sacredbev.com

Saint James Iced Tea

Roy Warren

-

FL

(561) 424-7280

saintjamesicedtea.com

SAS SALES AND MARKETING

Andy Stallone

Boca Raton

FL

(561) 350-6397

sassalesandmarketing.com

Lindsay Boudreaux

Fairfield

CA

(707) 685-7028

saxco.com

Saxco

110 BEVNET MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023

COMPANY

CONTACT NAME

CITY

STATE

PHONE NUMBER

WEB SITE

SAYSO

Alison Evans

Brooklyn

NY

(914) 417-1200

drinksayso.com

Sensient Flavors & Extracts

Rob Babikan

Hoffman Estates

IL

(847) 558-0427

sensientflavorsandextracts.com

Seven Organic Teas & Lemonades

Colin Campbell

Altadena

CA

(120) 361-3799

seventeas.com

ShineWater

Clare Verdery

Bay City

MI

(898) 891-7214

shinewater.com

Simple Time Mixers

Lydia Vipperman

Columbus

OH

(614) 507-7913

simpletimesmixers.com

SimplyDepo

Ivan Khymych

Queens, New York

NY

(347) 673-9266

simplydepo.com

-

Durango

CO

(970) 403-8562

skafabricating.com

Ska Fabricating Sovereign Flavors Inc.

David Ames

Santa Ana

CA

(714) 437-1996

sovereignflavors.com

Specialty Food Beverage-PCI

Tom Wallace

Ballston Spa

NY

(866) 461-0709

specialtyfoodbeverage.com

Spirited Hive

Pete Young

Denver

CO

(303) 886-3176

spiritedhive.com

Statco-DSI Process Systems

Randy Smith

Huntington Beach

CA

(714) 375-6300

statco-dsi.com

State Garden/Olivia's Organics

Mark Pins

Chelsea

MA

(508) 269-2868

oliviasorganics.org

Stiebs

Brian Nova

Madera

CA

(559) 661-0031

stiebs.com

Stratus Group

-

-

-

-

stratusgp.com

Strongwater

Nicholas Andresen

Evergreen

CO

(702) 985-4436

strongwater.com

Joan Ni

Needham Heights

MA

(339) 206-1167

suzhouchem.com

Taika

Suzhou-Chem Inc.

Jessica Parker

San Francisco

CA

(714) 706-2936

taika.co

TAP PRODUCTIONS

Terry Peterson

Richmond Hill

NY

(718) 441-0382

tapproductions.net

Tetra Pak

Ross Peets

Denton

TX

(940) 977-0693

tetrapakusa.com

The Lemon Perfect Company

Dana Barba

Atlanta

GA

(203) 343-3083

lemonperfect.com

The Plug Drink, Inc.

Justin Kim

Los Angeles

CA

(818) 271-9171

theplugdrink.com

Tripack

Bill Hunt

Milford

OH

(866) 900-1255

tripack.net

Trisolutions

David Neely

Vancouver

-

(778) 381-6060

trisolutions.ca

Troov

Maxx Holdrieth

San Diego

CA

(614) 395-6050

drinktroov.com

Trumpdrive Energy

Silver J. Mendez

Boca Raton

FL

(561) 473-1500

trumpdriveenergy.com

-

Lafayette

LA

(337) 783-3096

twghealthandnutrition.com

TWG Health & Nutrition UpClear Uptime Energy US Beverage Manufacturing

Kurt Kaiser

New York

NY

(212) 989-5000

upclear.com

-

Van Nuys

CA

(800) 441-5656

uptimeenergy.com

Zach Mosesian

Las Vegas

NV

(702) 476-1021

usbeveragemanufacturing.com

Vellamo Water

Teemu Oksa

Heinola

-

(810) 938-3000

vellamo.com

Velvet Llama

David Martino

Maspeth

NY

(773) 392-4831

velvetllama.com

Mark Anstine

West Palm Beach

FL

(703) 928-4082

drinkfang.com

Vitacyclix, Div of MORRE-TEC

Venomco

Maria Jewelyn Mendoza

Union

NJ

(908) 688-9009

morretec.com

Wai Koko Beverage Company

Miranda Clements

Kilauea

HI

(808) 826-6500

drinkwaikoko.com

Watermark Design

Darcey Lacy

Charlottesville

VA

(434) 295-5625

watermark.design

WEIMA America, Inc.

TJ Van Thullenar

Fort Mill

SC

(803) 802-7170

weima.com

Weird Beverages

Ronnie Bruland

Austin

TX

(512) 987-2864

drinkweird.com

Wise Mouth

Lei Nichols

Foxborough

MA

(508) 345-2559

wisemouthusa.com

WYNK Seltzer

Casey Coughlin

Landenberg

PA

(215) 565-5845

drinkwynk.com

XL Energy Drink Corp

Maja Leitner

New York

NY

(212) 594-3080

xl-energy.com

ZenWTR Alkaline Water

-

Los Angeles

CA

(833) 332-3936

zenwtr.com

111

Promo Parade Industry Promotions & Events Monster Energy Unveils Monster Branded Bodega at Madison Square Garden

Monster Energy announced in November the opening of the highly anticipated Monster Energy Bodega at Madison Square Garden, as part of its official partnership with the iconic venue. Just in time for UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden, sports fans and event attendees now have access to a unique and immersive experience right in the heart of the World’s Most Famous Arena.

UFC superstars Royce Gracie, Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera, Gilbert Burns, Jalin Turner and Khonry Gracie joined Rangers legend Brian Mullen at MSG to unveil the oneof-a-kind store.

Located on the sixth-floor concourse of Madison Square Garden and open during all events at The Garden including sports, music and live entertainment, the Monster Energy Bodega is set to become a staple for fans and will offer an array of Monster Energy products and a vibrant atmosphere that captures the spirit of Monster Energy and MSG.

The Monster Energy Bodega also stocks a selection of Monster Energy drinks, offering fans a wide range of energy-packed options to keep them fueled and energized throughout any event.

On UFC 295 fight night and beyond, the Monster-branded bodega is the ultimate pre-game destination.

“As the official energy drink partner of the Madison Square Garden Arena and the New York Rangers, we’re thrilled to bring the Monster Energy Bodega to this iconic venue,” said Monster Energy CMO, Dan McHugh. “This partnership is all about providing unforgettable experiences to fans, and the bodega will be the epicenter of that energy, offering fans a unique space to connect with our brand and enjoy the excitement of MSG events.”

The Monster Energy Bodega officially opened its doors on the historic night of UFC 295, where Monster athlete Alex Pereira claimed the Light Heavyweight title by defeating Jirí Procházka in the night’s headline bout.

Last year, Monster proudly became the Official Energy Drink Partner of both Madison Square Garden and the fourtime Stanley Cup Champions, the New York Rangers. Proceeds from the Monster Energy Bodega, which is just one of the many facets of the partnership, will be used to provide financial assistance to local bodegas throughout the tri-state area that are still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.

1800 Tequila Partners With Carmelo Anthony for Holiday Drop Shop 1800 Tequila is excited to share the launch of its new 1800 Tequila x Carmelo Anthony Holiday Drop Shop to celebrate the best taste in tequila and in life this holiday season. Featuring a partnership with brand tastemaker, 10-time NBA All-Star, and entrepreneur, Carmelo Anthony, the 1800 Tequila x Carmelo Anthony Holiday Drop Shop showcases tasteful gifts for tequila, fashion, and sports fans alike.

The 1800 Tequila x Carmelo Anthony Holiday Drop Shop is a limited-edition apparel capsule collection featuring four bespoke items designed and produced in collaboration with Carmelo Anthony and his apparel lifestyle brand STAYME7O. The 1800 Tequila x STAYME7O collection includes: 1800 Tequila x STAYME7O 112 BEVNET MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023

Varsity Jacket (hero product), 1800 Tequila x STAYME7O Hoodie, 1800 Tequila x STAYME7O Snapback Hat, and 1800 Tequila x STAYME7O Embroidered Fabric Patch.

Consumers are able to purchase apparel from the 1800 Tequila x Carmelo Anthony Holiday Drop Shop through various bundle sets ranging from $75 – $295 starting Cyber Monday, November 27, while supplies last.

As part of 1800 Tequila’s passion for sports and dedication to its community, all apparel proceeds from the 1800 Tequila x Carmelo Anthony Holiday Drop Shop will directly benefit The Carmelo Anthony Foundation to provide communities better access to recreational activities such as refurbishment of local basketball courts.

Electrolit Teams Up With Four University of Houston Student-Athletes Electrolit – the preferred, premium hydration beverage made from pharmaceutical quality grade ingredients – launched official hydration partnerships with four University of Houston studentathletes in November as they take their athletic journeys to the next level on and off the field.

Jamal Shead, the dynamic guard for the Houston Cougars (MBB), Laila Blair, starting point guard of Women’s Basketball (WBB), Kenna Sauer, the powerhouse outside hitter in Women’s Volleyball (VB), and Mikaela Gracia, the steadfast goalkeeper of Women’s Soccer (WSC), join Electrolit’s growing roster of athlete ambassadors.

“Sponsored by Electrolit, I’ve found more than just a brand; I’ve found a trusted ally in my journey as an athlete.

Their dedication to providing top-tier hydration and recovery products perfectly complements my commitment on the court and in my daily life,” said Jamal Shead, who earned the American Atheltic Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year honors in the 2022 - 2023 season.

Kenna Sauer, a rising star in Women’s Volleyball, adds: “Hydration and recovery are non-negotiables in what I do, and Electrolit’s products have quickly become my secret weapon to finding the perfect spike in volleyball. The Electrolit team understands the demands of our sport and helps to set me up for success in my serves.”

Electrolit’s products are specially formulated to help athletes and individuals stay properly hydrated and recover more effectively after physical activity. Scientifically formulated with magnesium, sodium, potassium, calcium, and glucose, Electrolit provides balanced hydration when electrolytes and ions are low to replenish the body to bolster performance, aligning with the University of Houston’s dedication to athletic excellence.

“We’re excited to embark on this journey with the University of Houston studentathletes as they take on the next chapter of their sporting careers. At Electrolit, we see our role as more than just hydration – it’s about being a part of the story, helping to write the next chapter in sports excellence,” said Jake Sloan, Sr. Marketing Director of Electrolit USA. “It’s important that Electrolit is on hand to help nurture tomorrow’s athletes on and off the court.”

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CELSIUS Essential Energy Announces “Fit Stops” Fitness Events Near College Campuses CELSIUS, the lifestyle energy drink formulated to power active lifestyles with essential and functional energy, is coming to college towns nationwide this fall with CELSIUS Fit Stops, an interactive, traveling fitness event that taps into the transformative power of music to elevate the workout experience.

CELSIUS brand partner and Bachelorette alum Tyler Cameron and trainer Phil Fit will lead the workouts, while DJ/Producer duo Two Friends will headline to keep the vibes elevated. The first Fit Stops event will take place near Arizona State University in November.

CELSIUS Fit Stops is another initiative from the brand to engage with college students and provide them with opportunities to LIVE FIT on their respective campuses.

Previously, the brand introduced CELSIUS University, a student marketing program that provides aspiring professionals with hands-on marketing experience by establishing CELSIUS’ brand presence on campus. The program currently takes place on 65 campuses nationwide during the Fall and Spring semesters of each school year and continues to expand.

CELSIUS ESSENTIALS is a revolutionary new, 16 oz. energy line from the brand that offers bold new flavors and helps fitness enthusiasts elevate their performance. The new formula, fea-

turing essential aminos, helps to enhance physical and cognitive performance. CELSIUS will be showcasing CELSIUS ESSENTIALS to college students on the Fit Stops tour this fall. CELSIUS ESSENTIALS is now available for purchase.

New Brew Signs Partnership Deal With UFC Champion Max Holloway Non-alcoholic functional beverage company New Brew announced its partnership with American MMA fighter and number one ranked UFC Featherweight Max Holloway.

Founded in Los Angeles in 2022, New Brew was created to reintroduce plants into the ceremony of drinking. New Brew’s formula blends small amounts of kava root, kratom leaf and caffeine to quickly and effectively enhance energy, reduce stress, and promote mental clarity. A native Hawaiian, Holloway, has been consuming kava-infused beverages for many years and was immediately drawn to the brand for its quality ingredients that support productivity and focus as well as recovery and relaxation.

“It’s an awesome product, but it’s also about the company and the team,” said Holloway.

“New Brew is committed to quality in its ingredients, transparency in its labeling and marketing, and they are doing this with a broader mission rooted in their personal experience.

Knowing the team, and seeing how New Brew has already become a part of my own rotation, I knew I had to get in early.”

As an investor and official ambassador of New Brew, Holloway serves as an important link to athletes, to the people of Hawaii, and to an even 114 BEVNET MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023

broader audience of dedicated parents and hard workers.

“We are humbled and grateful that Max is now part of the New Brew family,” said CEO Justin Wolf, who founded the company with his two brothers. “Max is in many ways the ideal partner for us, as a Hawaiian, as a champion athlete, as a family man with a kind soul. A lot of new beverage brands link up with celebrities for exposure, but this is more than that. In Max, we have found a real strategic partner.”